As CBS begins airing “Survivor: Gabon” on Thursday, it will start marketing new “Survivor” T-shirts, which it purchased from a socially conscious clothing brand based on the African continent.
The new T-shirt will display the series’ catchphrase, “Outwit, outplay, and outlast,” in a tri-color pattern shaped to simulate the African continent on the front, with the show’s logo on the back. CBS bought the T-shirts from Edun Live, a clothing brand created by U2 lead singer Bono and his wife. They’ll be available at the CBS online store simultaneous with the series’ 17th season debut on Sept. 25.
“Survivor” branded merchandise is consistently among the best-selling fare in the CBS online store. And the network is always looking to refresh its inventory with new items for fans of the long-running reality series that pits teams of contestants against each other in a battle of wits to survive in exotic locales.
“The more you create things that are new and different and are true to the show, the more they like it,” J.J. Ahearn, CBS director of license, said.
Visitors to http://www/CBSStore.com also can make contributions directly to the Conservation Cotton Initiative, an environmental effort launched by Edun Live in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society to help teach farmers about organic cotton farming and landscape resource management in Africa. Edun Live uses both organic and standard cotton tees.
CBS wanted to do something different to reflect its own social conscience and the self-sustaining values of “Survivor,” Ahearn said.
“We’re buying all of the blanks from Edun Live and we’re making an opportunity for the people to make a donation,” he said. “That’s the way we give back in the program.”
Edun Live’s production facilities used are located in countries such as Tanzania, Lesotho and Uganda. The organization consistently offers encouragement and support to farmers in the local communities to transition from conventional to organic production.
CBS will also market “Survivor” torches, facsimiles of those seen in the climactic council scenes in the series, in January in general market retail outlets to be announced. That will mark the first time that CBS has gone retail by selling “Survivor” merchandise in stores outside of its own online outlet.
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