Forget TV spots and print ad placements, the common t-shirt is the one of the best weapons you’ve got in your marketing drawer.

It’s one of the ways that Threadless grew from hanging out on a message board to a multi-million dollar business. The t-shirt is a popular marketing ploy amongst start-ups, it’s cheap, it’s relatively high profile (as long as you live in city). In fact it’s such a popular marketing ploy amongst start-ups that Business Insider ran a piece on the best start up t-shirts of 2011 and boy was there a lot. Check our top three below (plus a our favourite that we’ve included at the bottom):

Save a Child Heart

This t-shirt is perhaps the most beautiful, conveying their heartbreaking message simply and clearly. Read the equally heart-breaking story behind the t-shirt here.

Palantir Technologies

Palantir is a very serious organisation that help uncover sub-prime lending as well as government accountability and transparency. So of course they want rainbows and sunflowers of their shirts.

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Tumblr

When you’re as cool as Tumblr how can you not have an awesome shirt. I’m sure that hip young things like you all know what the symbols mean so the only question now is how to get your hands on one.

And the one that Business Insider left out:

blur Group

In case you haven’t recognised it that’s our t-shirt up there, part of our no alternative campaign we’re running at the moment. I know what you’re thinking though. How could Business Insider have not included us? Well somethings are just inexplicable.

If you’d like something designed then why not submit a brief on the Creative Services Exchange.