Brand Tattoos
With the ever-growing popularity of tattoos, it should be little surprise that some savvy marketing specialists are taking advantage of body art to help promote their products. But, brand tattoos are not just limited to those who are willing to ink themselves for a few bucks. In fact, many people are choosing to get brand tattoos completely on their own.
Wearing Brand Tattoos for Personal Reasons
Your personal reasons for getting a brand tattoo are unique to you as an individual. At the same time, there are numerous reasons why some choose to get a brand tattoo. One reason for getting a brand tattoo is because of the image or lifestyle the tattoo represents. For instance, those who choose to get the Nike swoosh as a tattoo often do so because of the advertising slogan of “Just do it” that is associated with the swoosh. For these people, the Nike brand tattoo is their way of expressing their belief in this motto.
Others decide to get a brand tattoo in order to show their loyalty to a certain product and, often times, to demonstrate that they are part of a certain group of people. Harley Davidson tattoos, which are the most popular brand tattoo, is an excellent example of this. The tattoo helps other Harley Davidson lovers identify one another and the tattoo represents their personal loyalty to the popular motorcycle.
Some people choose to get brand tattoos because they represent a special memory or because they feel they can relate to that brand in a specific way. This is most often represented in the form of Disney tattoos or tattoos depicting other cartoon characters.
Wearing Brand Tattoos to Make Money and Reap Benefits
Some people also choose to have a brand tattoo permanently inked to their body in order to be paid or to get special benefits. Although no one can say for sure when the idea of paying people off for wearing brand tattoos first began, it is believed to have started as an April Fool’s joke in 1994. At this time, a program reported that companies such as Apple Computer, Pepsi, KFC, and GAP were all offering 10% discounts for life to any teenager willing to tattoo his or her ears with their corporate logo. When massive numbers of teenagers called to learn more, and were disappointed to discover it was just a hoax, marketing execs started to pay attention to this new angle for advertising.
Of course, everyone has heard of the man who sold space on his head for thousands of dollars on eBay. In return, he had to wear the tattoo for two years and make sure it was always visible. But, it hasn’t stopped there. Restaurants offer free lunches for life to anyone willing to get their corporate logo tattooed on their body. The Great Northern Brewing Company holds contests, giving away a new Harley Davidson to the person with the biggest version of their “yahoo-in cowboy” logo. Even baseball teams have given away free lifetime season tickets to anyone willing to tattoo their logo on their body.