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Over the years, I’ve encountered the odd fanboy who will go so far as to mark his body with the logo of Apple, or Nike, or Harley Davidson, or Budweiser (those last two on the same person), but never would I imagine that such an extensive collection of brand logo tattoos could be compiled. Even by Internet standards, I’m impressed. Go check out the collection »

Many of these are pretty standard “tribe” brands — it’s almost expected that Nintendo, Playboy, or the Yankees would have supporters so dedicated — but Penguin books? Ikea? Windows Vista? Not exactly bad-ass, if you ask me.

While the social remarkability of tattoos has been massively diminished over the years, the fact that so many folks are willing to go under the needle for a corporate brand still speaks volumes as to the strength of that brand, and of brands in general. When a brand so consistently and repeatedly connects with a population, the results is the creation of a powerful tribe. In the best case scenario, this tribe will promote and recruit new members, if not consumers. But in the worst case, some poor sap is stuck with the tattoo of a defunct or least disgraced, once-mighty brand. Chevy, Ford, Sega, I’m looking at you.

What brand would you consider tattooing on your body? Observing the amount of Tropicana OJ I drink, that might be a candidate. But they are liable to randomly change their logo, and thereby alienate the brand faithful, so I don’t think that’s a good choice. When I was 18, I very nearly got a tattoo from the semiotics of the Star Wars universe, but that too has betrayed me over the years. The Baccardi logo is pretty cool, and I am Puerto Rican, after all, but I don’t drink, so it would be completely insincere. Oh well, better stick with ancient symbols and latin mottos or maybe something a little less specific.

// a tale of WTF, brands & branding
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