John Keddie thinks that voting is for old people. And you know what? He's right."Voting, in the U.S. at least, is for all U.S. citizens aged 18 and over," he says. By that definition, voting is a right reserved only for Americans who have reached adulthood, placing all voters-including our generation-squarely in the beginning of old fogie-dom.

Keddie and his T-shirt company Vintage Vantage have been steadily gaining notoriety since February, when he accidentally made news after allowing Urban Outfitters to distribute one of his T-shirts. The T-shirt was a fairly simple affair, with black and red lines, a dark blue picture of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box and black disco-era lettering that said "Voting Is For Old People."

The shirt was meant to be funny and ironic; instead, it caused instant outrage and was pulled hastily from Urban's shelves. Newspapers, consumers and pundits renounced it as damaging anti-voting propaganda. MTV News quoted one young woman in February as saying, "I saw young kids laughing at this shirt, and that's what hit me the hardest, the fact that those boys now probably will always disrespect the idea of voting in an effort to 'be cool.' "

But Keddie says that reaction is the opposite of what was intended by the shirt.

"We always felt the shirt was doing more good than evil in the whole 'youth voter turnout' arena," the 26-year-old Yale graduate said. "I mean, the shirt invites dialogue. We're not the kind of people who want to hit you over the head with a 'Vote Or Die' message [used in the rapper Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs' voting campaign]-we wanted it to be a bit more subtle, [to] actually inspire some thought as opposed to issuing an order."

Keddie created Vintage Vantage in 2001 after he had been re-selling vintage T-shirts on eBay. Inspired by his favorite form of fashion, Keddie began making his own T-shirts with tongue-in-cheek logos and slogans like "Mammogram-o-rama!" to promote Breast Cancer Awareness Month, or "Caucasia Knows How to Party!"

The slogans often are not politically correct, and are usually meant as a jab to the cultural establishment (like the "Drugs are Dope!" shirt), but also are usually understood as jokes, Keddie said. Other shirts, often bearing the names of U.S. states, are simply produced to look similar to vintage shirts that Keddie has seen in the past.

Vintage Vantage is a very small company, comprised of Keddie, his wife Heather and younger brother James, as well as several other full-time workers and a few part-time helpers. The entire staff consists of about 10 people. The company primarily sells through its Web site, but by 2003, stores that catered to the sarcastic, vintage-obsessed youth (like Urban Outfitters) had begun marketing their shirts as well.

"Voting Is For Old People" was born in the spring of 2003, during a late-night brainstorming session that Keddie says is the way his shirts are usually created. It was then marketed through his Web site.

"We initially released it to our Web site audience in the summer of 2003, and it was a big hit. It wasn't until Urban Outfitters started carrying the shirt in early 2004 that it attracted any negative attention."

Keddie admits that the outcry against his product surprised him at first, despite the fact that he understood that the shirt had the potential to be offensive.

"The fact that it would make some uptight people uncomfortable was definitely part of the shirt's charm. The shirt can be taken to mean several things-that's why we thought it was so funny," he said. But Keddie never expected the outcry to become as loud as it did.

When asked if he thought the press or mainstream America was dim for not getting the joke, Keddie replied, "I don't think it's a matter of mainstream America being exceptionally stupid-I think it has more to do with mainstream media not giving young people enough credit."

To prove that young people have a lot more intelligence-and a better sense of humor-than they are given credit for, Vintage Vantage has now launched a campaign to promote both voting and their T-shirt in this election season. The company has promised to send a free "Voting Is For Old People" shirt to anyone who promises to wear the shirt to the polls on Nov. 2 and take a picture of him or herself voting while so adorned. Then voters only have to send the photo to the Web site to be displayed.

The reasons for doing this are twofold: "We realized about a month ago that we might be able to take some of the negative media attention and turn it into something positive, and make some sort of positive difference in youth voter turnout," Keddie said.

"Of course there's also an element of redemption-we didn't think our shirt got a fair shake the first time around."

But can young people appreciate the intended irony of this T-shirt without feeling offended?

"I think it's funny," Rebecca Webber '08 said. "If it was sold somewhere like Urban, I would think that the people buying it are the people who can best poke fun at themselves, and at their political preferences. I think college students, especially, who are allowed to vote, should be able to understand and appreciate [the shirt's] irony."

Kyle Turner '06 is a bit more pragmatic in his approach.

"It's definitely not something I find offensive, but I can absolutely see why some people would be offended by it." But of seeing the promotion in practice, Turner admitted, "Seeing someone at the polls wearing that shirt would make my heart smile. It's a good way for [Vintage Vantage] to quell the fire they started, but it's also a good way for young people to show voter solidarity at the polls."

And that, ultimately, is Keddie's goal for his T-shirt: "If young voters make a difference in this year's election, I think it will have a double effect-inspire more young people to get out and vote next time, and inspire politicians to take young people's concerns into account. Our shirts are definitely part of that process and we're definitely making a positive difference."

In an election that has become so polarized and important, no one at Vintage Vantage wants to confuse the public about their message. The 18- to 29-year-old demographic is the second largest age group dsin the country, and also the most under-represented in voting participation. The bracket comprises 22 percent of eligible voters, but according to the U.S. Census Bureau, only 36 percent of that group actually voted in 2000. Keddie is working to change that, through his shirts and also through himself.

"Of course I'm voting!" he said. "The whole Vintage Vantage crew will be out at the polls, wearing the shirts and taking pictures.