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By C1 Staff
WASHINGTON — Facing mounting budgetary issues, prisons across the nation are rolling out a program intended to bring in a little extra cash by allowing corporations to advertise on their most abundant resource: inmates.
Prisoners on work release will wear orange jumpsuits plastered with ads for various companies. The new suits will be implemented next year, but prison officials are already accepting offers for advertising space.
The program’s best customer thus far? Colleges.
“I’d say institutions of higher learning make up about sixty percent of our client list thus far,” said John Stacey, head of the Washington State Department of Corrections. “Many have told us this has the potential to be the most effective advertising they’ve ever done.”
One sample slogan reads, “Don’t end up like this guy! Get your education at DeYoung Technical Institute today!”
The excitement level from prison officials is high. Many believe the revenue potential could transform a prison system plagued by crumbling infrastructure.
“If they want to put an ad on someone, we have a lot of real estate,” said Billy Club, a Florida prison warden.
Some companies are paying a higher price based on the ad location. Miralax had to pay a premium to secure their spot on inmates’ backsides.
“It’s a great reminder to keep your intestinal health in check,” CEO B.M. Break said. “We can’t wait to see how it performs.”
The prisons plan to save on labor costs by having the inmates iron on their patches themselves.
“If we could bring in a couple extra thousand a month making our inmates look like an international UPS package, why not?” Club said.