The Human Billboard

Okay, I give up! I vowed to myself that I wouldn't succumb to C I Host's blatant attempt to get free publicity by developing a promotion so zany that the media couldn't resist it. "You CAN resist!" I told myself. Sorry, but I can't. The C I Host "Human Billboard" promotion is so whacky that it has earned its moment of attention here on Wired Space. A guy named Jim Nelson has agreed to have the CI Host logo tattooed on the back of his head where he will display it for five years, according to a contract Nelson signed with C I Host, a large Texas-based hosting company.

"It definitely has gotten people's attention," Nelson said. "I get stopped daily by people asking me who C I Host is, what they do and why I have their name on the back of my head." Nelson said he agreed to the unusual use of his head to raise money for an online business.

The concept came from C I Host CEO Christopher Faulkner, who was hoping to find someone to agree to have the tattoo placed on their forehead. "I couldn't find anyone who would put the tattoo on their forehead but when I heard that Jim was willing to have the work done on the back of his head, I thought we'd give that a try," Faulkner said. "The results have worked very well to date."

So is this anything more than a cheap publicity stunt? Faulkner insists it's not, saying the initiative has led to 23 sales and boosted traffic to the C I Host web site by 12 percent. "We have started a new medium of advertising and since we have trademarked the phrase 'human billboard' we own and reserve the rights of future use," said Faulkner. "It is exciting for all parties involved."

So there. My moment of weakness is over, and I leave you with this question: when your CEO asks you how you selected the company's web host, what will you say? "Gee Boss, I saw this guy with a logo for a hosting company tatooed on his head, and thought it was so cool that I entrusted our entire web site to them!"