Trivia 6 of 30
What is the most tattooed brand of all time?
In 2021, researchers compiled a list of the 70 most commonly tattooed brands across a range of industries. They then looked up Instagram posts tagged with the brand name plus the word “tattoo”. Disney was the brand that came out on top, by more than a mile, with more tattoo posts on Instagram than all the other brands combined. It helps that so many lovable and memorable characters are Disney properties (AttractionsMagazine.com).
Tattoo of Belle, from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, by Gina Fote (via Instagram).
The next most tattooed brands were, in decreasing order of popularity: Nintendo, Harley-Davidson, Lego, and Nike.
The most tattooed brands: Disney, Nintendo, Harley-Davidson, Lego, and Nike.
Tattooing has been around for thousands of years, but it wasn’t until recently that people started tattooing images and logos of brands on their bodies.
The tattooed right hand of a Chiribaya mummy, circa A.D. 900 to 1350. (Joann Fletcher, via Instagram).
The late 1990s and early 2000s were full of dot com companies flush with cash looking for brand exposure. A trend known as “skinvertising” began with an Illinois man named Jim Nelson reportedly being the first to sell his skin as a billboard. Doing so earned him $7,000 ($11,133.61 in today’s money – USinflationCalculator.com), paid by a web hosting company then known as CI Host (BuzzFeed).
The back of Jim Nelson’s head in 2003. He signed a contract promising to keep the ink for at least five years.
A few short years later, another skinvertiser became perhaps the most famous walking billboard until then by getting “GoldenPalace.com” tattooed in bold black uppercase letters on her forehead. Karolyne Smith (now Karolyne Williams), from Utah, was paid $10,000 for her troubles. Supposedly, the tattoo artists at the shop spent over seven hours trying to convince her not to get the tattoo (Casino.org). She stated at the time that she wanted to be able to afford private school for her son.
Karolyne Smith with her son in 2005.
Nowadays, it’s fairly common to see people with tattoos of brands on their bodies. You can find people with tattoos of sports teams, clothing brands, and even fast food chains. Even though many will admit that certain brands tend to “get under their skin,” there are some for whom that statement takes on a much more literal form.
