Whether it’s coffee, Earl Grey, or Romulan Ale, it’ll taste better in your very own UtopiaFleet mug!
That’s how it read on the shopping or merchandise or whatever they called it page on the Utopia Fleet website more than 20 years ago. As I recall, they sold at least four different Utopia Fleet-branded items:
| Item | Price | Description | Pitch |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100% Cotton T-Shirt | $14.99 | “White T-Shirt with Fleet logo on the front and the URL of the Fleet homepage on the back.” | none |
| 11 & 15-ounce Coffee Mugs | $12.50 / $13.99 | “Dishwasher safe ceramic coffee mugs.” | “Whether it’s coffee, Earl Grey, or Romulan Ale, it’ll taste better in your very own UtopiaFleet mug!” |
| Mouse Pad | $12.99 | “Standard-sized premium cloth covered mousepad” | “What better way to show your loyalty to the Fleet than by having the logo right under your mouse?” |
| Ballcap | unknown | unknown | unknown |
At the time, I found it strange that they would actively sell merchandise while existing entirely within then Paramount’s Star Trek universe. I also thought it odd that anyone would actually walk around wearing a Utopia Fleet shirt or hat, but to each his own! However, this quirky online simming shop stuck in my head for years and years. And years.
So much so that for our 20th anniversary at Independence Fleet, we handed out our first piece of branded objects: an Independence Fleet mug. Since then we’ve created a few more physical items: coasters, keychains, and pens. We’ve even given out plaques to elected members of our Hall of Fame whom we were able to track down. All 100% free, of course, so no would could accuse us of profiting off of Trek.
Circling back to Utopia Fleet, which to this day continues to serve as a creative inspiration to me: Does anyone out there still have any of the original Utopia Fleet items? Or have pictures of them? If so, please let me know!
