Japanese Body Advertising Uses Stickers on Young Women’s Thighs, Requires Social Following to Participate

A marketing company is paying young Japanese women up to ¥10,000 ($115) to wear advertising stickers on their “absolute territory”—the area of skin visible between their high socks and the hemline of their miniskirts. The body advertising campaign requires participants to have a social media following.

The company, Wit Inc., recruits human billboards through its Absolute Territory PR website. The Japanese term “zettai ryouiki,” translated as “absolute territory,” refers to the aforementioned bit of leg—and it’s a fetish among many Japanese men.

An Absolute Territory recruit, or “partner,” must wear a branded sticker on her thigh for eight hours.

Partners must be female, at least 18 and have at least 20 social media connections. Each must get her picture taken with a sticker on her thigh in at least two different locations, and then upload the photos to a social network. The job lasts for just one day.

While the minimum number of followers is 20, the number is typically much greater. One partner has a Twitter following of 8,000.

With this combination of sex appeal and social media mass, it’s easy to see how the Absolute Territory body advertising stickers are becoming fashionable among young Japanese women. The campaign allows them to become objects of desire by literally bearing brands on their bodies — making them the focus of ostensibly positive viral attention.

Hidenori Atsumi, president of Wit, says that social media has “lowered people’s psychological barrier to becoming information sources themselves.”

“These ads are actually a perfect fit for women who are looking for content to upload on social networking sites,” said Atsumi.

Image: Flickr

Category: Social Media