Silent cry of rebellion

Once seen as a silent cry of rebellion, tattoos now poses a status so firmly mainstream that advertisers are using them to market everything from tires and shoes to wine and energy drinks. Haha. That has its downside, though. The more acceptable tattoos become, the more they lose their edginess and their value as advertising. There is always an element of rebellion or rite of passage with these things. What makes them interesting is how the marketplace appropriates that rebelliousness and serves that back to you in the form of an energy drink.
The 7-Eleven convenience store chain recently started selling an energy drink called Inked, aimed at people who either have tattoos or those who want to think of themselves as the tattoo type. The company plans to market the drink at motorcycle rallies and tattoo conventions.
As the attention of young consumers gets spread between TV, blogs, online video and other distractions, marketers have resorted to alternative methods to get their interest. Marketers use tattoos both as a cultural icon and as the method to deliver the message. It's an attempt to do something different in a fresh way.

On a never-ending quest to appeal to the young and young-minded, companies from Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. to Volvo are using tattoos in advertising and promotion. Even wine sellers have adopted the tattoo, with managers of the Yellow Tail brand..(my mom even drinks this) sending something like 600,000 temporary tattoos out with an October issue of the New Yorker magazine and wine importer Billington Wines taking the name Big Tattoo Wines for its $10 a bottle brand.

For a couple of years I heard that Goodyear's Dunlop tire unit has offered a set of free tires to anyone who will get the company's flying-D logo tattooed somewhere on their body, and 98 people have taken up the offer. I MEAN ARE PEOPLE FUCKING CRAZY?! But, some of them are brand loyalists who already own Dunlop tires, while others were tattoo fans who wanted to add to their body art supposedly. I don’t really see how this is art but okay?

For those friendly to the idea of being a walking billboard, the Web site Leaseyourbody.com connects advertisers with people who want to be paid for sporting tattoo advertisements. Which seems like a really cool idea.

Volvo has also recently utilized tattoos in another way… by creating a fictional character whose tattoos spelled out the coordinates of an undersea location of like a shit ton of gold coins and the keys to a new car. I don’t know if I’m correct but it seems like the tattoo man was a way to get people to think differently about the Volvo brand?

Tattoos are becoming so pervasive that some see them as less effective in marketing to trendsetters. The stereotypes of bikers and rough types seem out now lol, sorry guys. People think of urban moms having tattoos these days.

Once corporations use tattoos, it's clear they have lost some of their edginess. You've got this constant game of cat and mouse, of youth culture and these companies. That lifecycle just gets shorter and shorter and shorter.

General Mills has been selling Fruit Roll-Ups with tattoo-shaped cutouts that let children make temporary tongue tattoos which I almost forgot about haha. Shoe maker Nike Inc. has employed celebrity tattoo artist Mister Cartoon to design six lines of limited-edition shoes. And just this month, the glass and crystal seller Steuben Glass announced it would sell tattoo-inspired vase and crystal sculpture designs by artist Kiki Smith.

I'd have to say it has lost most of its social stigma..I mean, tattoos these days are almost pathetic. From the logos, to getting free tire tatts to those stupid meaningless tribal ones (you know what I mean). But some of us still make tattoos exciting. I have a friend who has a superrrrrr detailed tattoo of Jack Skellington on his back. Infact, I was almost blown away with the detail. It’s beautiful. His friend, this girl, now.. she has a realllllllll clean looking Bayside tatt. Omg its gorgeous. Not to mention in the perfect location son. Another friend, this girl I go to the gym with has a BEASTY sleeve tattoo. Now that tatt is wicked tight. The detail and colors. Especially the fade job when it gets to her wrist. That is a true work of art. Another good friend has KING BROS tattooed across his back, its HUGE. Stupid. Very stupid but, it looks cool, lol.

American consumers watched as rock stars of the 1980s got tattoos. Their supermodel girlfriends followed, and that made tattoos visible on the women who are seen by many as icons of beauty.That led to the proliferation of tattoos.

To underscore that, corporate lawyer David Kimelberg published in April a book, "INKED Inc., Tattooed Professionals," that features photos of doctors, lawyers and other executives, first in their normal work clothes then dressed so their large-scale tattoos can be seen. The goal of the photos is to show how tattoos are gaining popularity in corporate America.

The rest of the world is finally catching up to us.


Tattoos aren’t just ink. They’re a way of life.