Cringe-worthy "American Idol" singers. Plus-size beauty pageant contestants. Six-legged cats. Barack Obama's half-eaten waffle that's for sale on eBay. Who wouldn't want to wear all those, and more, out in public with pride?

That's what CNN is finding out with its latest marketing venture: $15 T-shirts that can be ordered with select headlines on its Web site, CNN.com.

CNN (ENLARGE)

CNN staffers pose with a few of the shirts available at cnn.com/tshirt.

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"It's a little bit subversive for CNN — an innovative campaign for what has been a pretty traditional brand," says Andy Mitchell, CNN's vice president of interactive marketing.

Especially given the flaky, sometimes tabloidy headlines that people seem to favor so far. "6-legged kitty named Hex needs surgery," for example. Or "Arms cache found in girl's treehouse."

Only headlines posted on CNN.com's Latest News section are eligible, and Web site editors can decide if a headline is inappropriate for a shirt. No tragedies or serious controversies, please. The idea, which rolled out this week, has already been mocked online, as the snarky Gawker.com held a contest for people to suggest their own CNN-related slogans. Among the printable suggestions: "Hed Turner," "Celebrity Nuisance Network" and "Pull My Cable."

The shirt idea was suggested by an outside ad agency, The Barbarian Group in Boston, that CNN solicited. The shirts are based on individual orders, then printed and mailed from a Pennsylvania factory. Mitchell would not discuss sales figures, but said the shirts are priced so that CNN breaks even on every sale; it's a marketing ploy rather than a money-maker. He said that sales in The Turner Store at CNN Center had been discussed, but they will wait and see what's a hit.

"You don't know what's going to resonate with people," Mitchell says. "This week it's leaned a little toward the offbeat stuff, but I'm not sure it's going to stay that way."

No, it's the Internet. It's going to stay that way.

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