Our brief was to find a low-cost way to hype the upcoming DVD release of the incredibly violent Cinemax original series, Strike Back (a remake of the popular British series of the same name).

We landed on a subtle T-shirt design that distils the show’s storyline down to 1 image: a powerful semi-automatic handgun, which appears as if it’s peeking out of the wearer’s belt.When the show’s operative characters are out in the field, they often appear (understandably) a bit paranoid. Likewise, wearers of our shirt were able to experience the sensation of having strangers’ eyes on them.The shirts caused passers-by to do double takes – obviously wondering to themselves if the wearers were actually carrying a concealed weapon.

Although it’s too early to calculate quantifiable results, pre-orders are at high levels and initial anecdotal response has been effusive. The network has been inundated with requests for more shirts – from outside journalists as well as Cinemax staffers themselves – to the point where the supply of shirts has run out.