Once upon a time, tattoos were a bold way of expressing yourself. These days, they're practically a fashion accessory. They're so commonplace, in fact, that I don't think there's a single team in the league that could field an ink-less lineup, regardless of talent level. But while it's old hat for today's ballplayers to decorate their bodies with tattoos, we've yet to see a player get ink done simply to endorse a product. Sure, LeBron James has "Witness" on his right calf, but there's been nothing to suggest he was paid by Nike (specifically) for that.
At least one entrepreneur hopes to change that -- at least with temporary tattoos. From the Ottawa Sun:
New frontiers were recently explored by Dakkan Abbe, the president of New York City-based Fifty Rubies Marketing.It's unclear if the NBA's stance is legally correct, but I still applaud the decision not to allow this. It's a slippery slope: first we allow a temporary tattoo for Crunch bars, next players are taking a page from boxing by writing cheesy online casino names on their biceps with a magic marker. Check out Need4Sheed to see how this might end up.
While watching an NBA game on TV, Abbe figured out a way for sponsors to get national exposure without paying for commercial time: Temporary tattoos.
Before considering all the details, he spoke to Detroit Pistons forward/centre Rasheed Wallace about wearing the logo of a candy company during a game.
Wallace declined the deal after the New York media found out about the offer.
The league, it was later learned, would view such an arrangement as a violation of its collective bargaining agreement with the players.
(via Need4Sheed)
