If the human body is the last frontier for advertising space, then St. Louis resident Asia Francis is helping chart new territory - the big, pregnant belly.



Francis, 21, auctioned off the advertising rights to her pregnancy on eBay. The winning bid of $1,000 went to a California Internet company, giving it exclusive rights to temporarily tattoo its brand-name on Francis's belly and broadcast the birth of her daughter live on the Internet. The baby is due any day.



The concept of a human billboard is hardly new.



Twenty-one year old Andrew Fischer of Omaha, Neb., earned more than $37,000 last year by bearing a corporate logo on his forehead for a month. Michele Hutchison of Lanhorne, Pa., auctioned ad rights for her baby's clothing on eBay last year, seeking $1,000 for a months' lease.



For big companies, the idea is simple. Do something outrageous or strange, grab some media attention and cut through the clutter of advertising messages that bombards consumers.



"It's a well-held theory in the advertising industry that the average person on the street receives up to 3,000 branded messages a day," said Floyd Hayes, whose New York advertising firm, Cunning Communications, specializes in media stunts.



The pregnant belly is prime real estate for auction because it's likely to get people talking, Hayes said.



"If they were to buy the coverage they will receive for this, it would cost them many times more the fee they paid the person," he said.

















(Agencies)

如果人的身体是最后一块有待开发的广告领域，那么美国密苏里州圣路易斯的居民爱莎·弗朗西丝则成了这块新领域的开路先锋--拿孕妇的大肚子打广告。



现年21岁的孕妇弗朗西丝在Ebay网上拍卖自己"肚子"的广告权，加利福尼亚州的一家网络公司出价1000美元赢得该项拍卖，该公司因此获得以下独家权利：在一段时间内有权把公司的商标纹在弗朗西丝的肚子上，并且在网上直播弗朗西丝在将来某一天分娩女儿的录像。



其实，拿人身打广告并不新鲜。



去年，21岁的安得鲁·费舍尔（美国内布拉斯加州奥马哈地区居民）将一家公司的标志印在自己前额1个月，他由此得到了超过3.7万美元的报酬；同年，米歇尔·哈奇森（美国宾夕法尼亚州朗霍恩地区居民）在Ebay网上以月租金1000美元拍卖自己宝宝着装的广告权。



对那些大公司来说，这种创意既简捷又方便。做一些出格或怪异的举动，以此吸引媒体的关注，同时又能在狂轰乱炸的消费广告中脱颖而出。



美国纽约科宁通讯是一家专门研究媒体噱头的广告公司。该公司的负责人弗洛伊德·海耶斯说："广告界一致认同一种理论，那就是一个人在大街上平均每天会接收到3000条广告信息。"。



海耶斯还说："孕妇的肚子是绝佳的拍卖资本，因为它容易引发人们的讨论。"



他说："如果有些公司想要通过媒体广告达到同样的宣传效果，他们要花的钱比支付给孕妇的酬金多很多倍。







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