Attire with flying-ear-of-corn brand flies off shelves

Seed company DeKalb has been using a flying ear of corn as its logo for years on its packages of corn, soybean and sorghum seeds. In August, the company stamped the logo on a line of clothing marketed at 15- to 24-year-olds, and that crowd has been buying the T-shirts, jackets and hats at a brisk pace, reports Erin Crawford of the Des Moines Register.

The company did not start the WingWear line (at left in a promotional photo) to enter the fashion business but to reach out to young people."We realized we had to do this in a way youth could connect with, through fashion and music and an online experience," DeKalb marketing manager Jason Hoag told Crawford. "Try to make a connection with them they could truly understand."

Unlike the company's past in-house efforts, a local advertising agency designed and marketed the line. Profits from the line will go toward agricultural scholarships. (Read more)