Russian offers his back for tattoo ads

Igor Lisovenko, of Russia, has decided to earn money by selling space on his back for tattoo advertisements. PHOTO: REUTERS

MOSCOW: A resident of Russia’s St. Petersburg city has decided to earn money by selling space on his back for tattoo advertisements.

According to newsru.com website, 29-year-old Igor Lisovenko has tattooed his back in “advertisement blocks” made of 950 little squares, offering companies to place their logos in each square for 10 euros a month or 600 euros (around $790) for five years.

“I was just walking one day to work and suddenly decided to bring fun into my life,” said Igor, who works as a salesman in a mobile phone shop.

He said he would not remove the tattoos in five years’ time nor would he walk around with a naked torso.

The main idea of the project is a website that will publish photos of the ads on his back.

He also plans to attend various events of his clients and probably tattoo sessions, the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper said.

Lisovenko said one client had already bought five little squares but he declined to name him.

“We are working on his logo. And the first picture will appear on my back in a week or two,” he said.

If the project is a success, Lisovenko said he would expand the advertising area to his arms and shoulders.

However, traditional advertisers are not impressed with the idea.

“Serious companies are unlikely to agree to this. Maybe some creative agencies would respond but I would not place my advertisement on the back of a stranger,” Marina Maksimova, an advertising manager, told the Komsomolskaya Pravda paper.

Tattoo advertisements are not a novelty in Russia. Last year, more than 3,000 people decided to place temporary tattoos, advertising an electric instruments shop for 10,000 rubles (260 euros) each.

In the US, a 20-year-old student, Andrew Fischer, sold his forehead at an online auction for an advertisement for $37,000, though it was a temporary tattoo.