It’s hard to deny what Taylor Swift’s impact has done for local economies. Now let’s discuss what the megastar is doing for sea otters.
When she wrote a lyric about friendship bracelets, bead box kits sold out as Swifties rushed to make their own one-of-a-kind designs to trade at Swift’s concerts. When the Eras Tour made its way across the country, small shops created themed menus, photo ops, and more to get a boost in business from concertgoers. Hospitality and rideshare businesses were booming, and the term “Swiftonomics” was coined along the way.
And now, after wearing a Sea Otter shirt in the film “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl,” the Monterey Bay Aquarium is giving the people what they want: they brought back the 90s-era design, and announced proceeds will go to their Sea Otter Program.
To explain how we got here, here’s a quick lore recap: Taylor Swift went on her fiancé Travis Kelce’s podcast “New Heights” to announce her 12th studio album “The Life of a Showgirl.” In the August 13 episode, the two were discussing with Kelce’s brother and co-host Jason Kelce, how Travis had a goal in life of rescuing and befriending a sea otter.
The Monterey Bay Aquarium shared at the time of the podcast’s release that they would be more than happy to have Kelce come meet their sea otters.
As part of the promotional cycle for her latest album, Swift held “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl” at movie theaters across the country from Oct. 3 – 5. The film was a mixture of an album listening party as well as a behind-the-scenes look at the making of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video. Eagle-eyed fans noticed that Swift was wearing a Sea Otter shirt and discovered it was from the Monterey Bay Aquarium.
Swifties quickly took to social media to find out where they could purchase the shirt, only to discover that the tee was from 1993 and not currently available on the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s website. Swifties began requesting the shirt on the aquarium’s social media, and noted that they would wait for it to be officially released instead of purchasing it from bootleg sites. Additionally, Swifties didn’t just talk the talk; they began making $13 donations, Swift’s favorite number, towards the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Sea Otter Program, to show they were planning to walk the walk.
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A glimmer of hope came a few days later when, on Oct. 6, Liberty Graphic Tees, the owner of the artwork, shared they were working with the Monterey Bay Aquarium to bring back the design. And on Saturday, Oct. 11, the two shared that they were officially collaborating to bring back the shirt, and those who signed up for email updates would be the first to know of its return.
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The Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter shirt has been rereleased in collaboration with Liberty Graphics after Taylor Swift was spotted wearing it in the making of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video as part of “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” (Image courtesy of ©Monterey Bay Aquarium)
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The Monterey Bay Aquarium Sea Otter shirt has been rereleased in collaboration with Liberty Graphics after Taylor Swift was spotted wearing it in the making of “The Fate of Ophelia” music video as part of “The Official Release Party of a Showgirl.” (Image courtesy of ©Monterey Bay Aquarium)
The Sea Otter shirt went live on Thursday, Oct. 16, just before 10 a.m., as part of a limited-time campaign with 50,000 shirts available. Rather than purchasing the shirt from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s online store, the tee is actually a reward for those who donate at least $65.13 towards the Sea Otter Program and ocean conservation efforts. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has prided itself on rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing stranded sea otters for more than 40 years.
By 4:00 on Thursday afternoon, nearly 17,000 shirts had been purchased and more than $1.1 million had been raised towards their $1.3 million goal. One day after the shirts had gone live, $2.1 million had been raised for the Sea Otter Porgram. For now, fans can still score a shirt by making a donation here, but because of demand, those orders will be on back order. The shirts will begin shipping in late October.
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