Via my inbox, I received a news release on something called “handvertising”. According to HandvertisingUSA:

Handvertising USA is transforming the way advertisers are looking at your skin, more specifically your hands. “Almost everyone has been to a county fair, swap meet, bar or club and had had their hand stamped for proof of entry. We have found a better use for this space that could make everyone happy” said Mike Brown, CEO of the company.

From generating awareness to drumming up business by offering discounts, companies can use advertising on skin to drum up support, according to Brown.

It sounds like a bizarre idea to me. But, in a world where young people no longer listen to the radio, watch TV in real time or take part in mass media, this sort of marketing may just work. It’s the reason that ambush marketing and stealth marketing have become tactics of choice for advertisers targeting youth.

(c) 2006 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.