From the Fiverr guy who will write a message of your choice on his beer belly to the woman who auctioned her forehead on eBay for $10,000, the topic of human advertising has been a hot one for many years now.

Branding was definitely a business buzz word in 2013 and many businesses developed enormously successful and highly creative strategies. There are no signs of the craze for words like ‘brand identity’, ‘personal branding’ and ‘brand awareness’ slowing down and so the question is where we go from here?

Hair

When I was at school there was a flurry of boys getting sports logos shaved into the back of their head. I thought this was contained to a short burst during the mid-nineties but apparently not. There was controversy a couple of years ago when Hampshire schoolboy Curtin Hallman had the Addidas logo shaved into his hair. He was immediately expelled for breaking the schools policy on extreme hairstyles. It is no different across the water with American kids shaving the NY Giants logo in their hair during the Superbowl.

Tattoos

At least logos in hair will grow out, tattoos last a lifetime. No one knows this more than Karolyn Smith, a Utah mother who auctioned her forehead on eBay. The winner was the Golden Palace online casino who laid down a cool $10,000 to have their website address emblazoned across Karolyn’s head. There was a huge marketing furore around this story with Karolyn relentlessly appearing on T.V, radio and in the newspapers throughout. These days Karolyn can be seen sporting a long blonde fringe and handful of regrets.

There are some people though who get corporate logo tattoos without the promise of a hefty lump sum. What is it that makes your average Joe go out and get a Nike, Apple or Google tattoo? Psychologists say that these people tend to feel a deep affinity with the brand in question and of course the brands themselves love these free walking advertisements.

Clothing

Clothing sponsorship is much more traditional, especially in the world of sport. However, some companies choose to break away from the expected and go for something a little different. Take the London 2012 Olympics for example. Online betting company Betfair sponsored the Women’s Volley Ball Tournament at the games. They printed a QR code on the backside of the team bikini bottoms that when photographed took you to their website and offered you a free bet. They called it advertising where their male target audience would see it.

Back in 2000 Mike Tyson was up against unequally matched opponent Julius Francis. Most people expected that Francis would hit the deck fairly early on and so the Daily Mirror decided to sponsor the soles of his feet. During the two round fight, Francis was knocked down five times. At the time of the fight this kind of advertising was so unusual that the cameras focused more on the soles of Francis’s feet than they did on Iron Mike!

About the author: Vicky works alongside Top Wristbands and has been involved in the writing and marketing industry for a number of years. She really enjoys reading up on unusual and quirky advertising campaigns as well as looking at emerging trends in the world of business.

Photo Credit: http://topcultured.com/billy-the-human-billboard/