Does it say "Stupid" across my forehead?

Google BlogSearch handvertising •  Caption Contest: Handvertising is the new banner ad •  Guerrillamarketing: de toekomst: handvertising •  McDonald's Painted Handvertising - Rock 'n' Fries •  Handvertising Hits Dublin at Piaras Kelly PR - Public Relations in ... •  Handvertising - Sua Empresa na Mão do Cliente •  Handvertising: Advertisers looking at your skin in a new way •  handvertising: advertisers looking at your skin in a new way •  Handvertising: Marketing (re)discovers the human body | News Blog ... •  Handvertising: Elinizin üzerine reklam alır mıydınız? •  Cultural Handvertising - AT&T;Campaign (GALLERY)

Handvertising is one of those brilliant "Duh!" moments. When I was very young and I tried to create an illusion of homework completion, my dad used to say Does it say Stupid across my forehead? I thought his forehead did say that of course. But what if it said Coca-Cola?

I can recall a promotional reception I attended at a computer conference in San Diego quite sometime ago. It was in the night-life district at a hip mexican bar - lots of fun; great food. But to gain access, I had to get my hand stamped at a trade show booth of the sponsoring company - the stamp said "DUMBO". I had to explain this hand stamp all day as I walked the show floor - some jokes just write themselves.

What if it said "Intel Inside" or "Lexus"? Much easier to explain and a lot less insulting. ;-) More important - thousands of brand impressions at near zero cost. Hmmm...

But they need to take this to the next level...

• Color (a must for brand savvy firms)
• Glow-in-the-dark inks
• Ultra-fast, Internet-based production process
• Web-based stamp printing (I have no clue how to do this, but imagine getting a stamp via your printer)
• Viral stamp sharing (for some events you want to spread the invitations - shake hands, pass the stamp?)

This reminds me of PaceTat which makes tatoo-like pacing guides for runners. But they have found a far more lucrative market. What's interesting for marketers is the branding opportunity: PaceTat offers custom branded versions for advertisers. Priced from USD 0.39 each, depending on order quantity, PaceTat's pacing guides present marketers with a unique canvas for conveying a message that literally sticks with the consumer until it’s washed off. The company, which was founded earlier this year, has already sold over 30,000 branded pacing guides. (They picked a desirable audience, too. In the US, the running market is notable for its median household income of roughly USD 113,000, according to Runner's World.)