ELI5: What is body advertising or skinvertising?

Body advertising means using a person's body as a place to display a brand, logo, website or promotional message.

It is sometimes also called skin advertising or skinvertising.

The advertisement is usually temporary. A company might use a temporary tattoo, body paint or another temporary application so that its branding appears on someone during an event, public appearance or piece of content.

For example, imagine a runner competing in a major marathon with a clearly visible company logo on their upper arm.

The concept is similar to a billboard.

The difference is that the "billboard" moves through an event, appears in photographs, can be captured in video and may also reach the person's social-media audience.

Body advertising is not a completely new idea. There are documented examples going back decades of people selling advertising space on areas such as their forehead.

What has changed is the internet.

Today, one temporary body advertisement could potentially appear in race photographs, Instagram Reels, TikTok videos, YouTube videos and other online content.

SponsorMyBody.com is exploring a marketplace approach to body advertising, where athletes and creators can offer specific temporary sponsorship placements and brands can more easily discover suitable people and events.