Not enough money in the world....
July 1, 2005 12:08 AM   Subscribe

Advertising sinks to new lows. But this isn't the first time that these guys have been in the news.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy (54 comments total)
 
To be fair, Golden Palace didn't solicit her, but bought out her auction at her "buy it now" price; otherwise she would have gotten some other business's tattoo, and likely a lot less money -- the bidding was only up to $999.99.
posted by orthogonality at 12:25 AM on July 1, 2005


What is low about this? The people seem willing to accept the money for the ads and they have been paid. It doesn't appear that any one has been forced or deceived.
posted by Hicksu at 12:27 AM on July 1, 2005


Boy is this woman gonna be pissed when her son turns into junkie dropout...
posted by PenDevil at 12:30 AM on July 1, 2005


When they show me a shot of the forehead tat instead of that foreheadsticker I might beleive it. Maybe.
posted by dabitch at 12:31 AM on July 1, 2005


I was going to come in here and call her a dumb bitch but then I read how she lost several family members recently, and maybe this is her way of "acting out", even though it is beyond me how you could put a URL on your fuckin forehead...
posted by Dean Keaton at 12:50 AM on July 1, 2005


clearly money well spent on the disgusted of metafilter demographic.
posted by andrew cooke at 12:50 AM on July 1, 2005


The question is: would YOU do it? If so -- how much would it cost? And what sites (or companies) would you draw the line at?

For instance...would you tattoo "google.com" on your forehead for $25K? How about "amazon.com" for $5K and a lifetime of free shipping? How much would it take to get you to tattoo "goatse.cx" on your forehead?
posted by davidmsc at 1:11 AM on July 1, 2005


My friend's brother has a local radio station's logo tattoo on his arse but at least its easy to cover.

Isn't it illegal to advertise gambling over there? I thought that was why they use these stunts to gain publicity. If so would her forehead be an illegal advertisement?
posted by skarmj at 1:20 AM on July 1, 2005


guys, her tattoo is a real as this kids. MMmkay? I can see the plastic border.
posted by dabitch at 1:25 AM on July 1, 2005


Sometime in the far future, someone is going to write a brilliant history thesis on GoldenPalace.com.
posted by mek at 1:36 AM on July 1, 2005


I have no problem with this and good for her.

But the creative dept is asleep at the wheel: The tattoo would work better on the small of her back ("skank license plate") and read something like "After you're done here, we'll do you at GoldenPalace.com"
posted by hal9k at 2:54 AM on July 1, 2005 [1 favorite]


hal9k - You're hired! *moahaha* That's good.
posted by dabitch at 3:01 AM on July 1, 2005


If it's real, that poor kid will be bound by guilt to his mother's will for a long time.
posted by Espoo2 at 4:17 AM on July 1, 2005


I'm curious just how many years of private school she thinks $10,000 will buy...
posted by trey at 4:29 AM on July 1, 2005


I'm I missing something here? Are these lines actually consistent?

Jon Wolf of the company's marketing department said skin is not an uncommon spot for the casino to advertise: It already has another forehead, more than 100 arms, legs, chests and backs.
Smith is the first woman to have her forehead tattooed with an advertisement, and "we like having a collection of firsts," Wolf said.
posted by miniape at 4:33 AM on July 1, 2005


Oops. Should be "Am I..." above. Now someone will come along and explain how that actually is consistent and I'll feel like a total ass.
posted by miniape at 4:36 AM on July 1, 2005


miniape, it's probably just that the previous forehead tattoo recipient is a dude. No need to feel like an ass, though!
posted by purplemonkie at 5:07 AM on July 1, 2005


("skank license plate")

Nice, hal9k. Misogyny like that is always funny.
posted by Flem Snopes at 5:10 AM on July 1, 2005


He doesn't hate all women, just skanks with tattoos
posted by Mick at 5:25 AM on July 1, 2005


dabitch: It's real. Check the video here.
posted by Orb at 5:42 AM on July 1, 2005


Orb:

I was going to show dabitch how it was real, but then I thought: Even if I "win", I lose, because that means SOMEONE REALLY DID THIS.

Waaaaalk away... Waaaaalk away
posted by jscott at 5:45 AM on July 1, 2005


"To me, $10,000 is like $1 million." - except, it's not.

I'm curious just how many years of private school she thinks $10,000 will buy... - almost 0.5 (if you're not boarding).
posted by RockCorpse at 5:57 AM on July 1, 2005


Ouch. Way more on the sad side of things than funny, I'd say.
posted by ITheCosmos at 6:11 AM on July 1, 2005


A friend of my mother-in-law (no wait--no Urban Legend follows) won $125,000 in a lottery and asked her, "Am I a millionaire?"

People is stupid.
posted by beelzbubba at 6:15 AM on July 1, 2005


I'm not sure that a crummy pixellated tiny video will ever convince me as its hard to see anything in that. I see no blood being wiped off her forehead as the tattoo-artist is working on her (or even a napkin in his hand), I see no raised skin or extreme redness in the area around the tattoo once the tat is finished. I just can't believe this. Until I see her in real life perhaps.
posted by dabitch at 6:29 AM on July 1, 2005


dirtynumbangelboy, do you work for Golden Palace?

The purpose of this stunt was to get people talking about Golden Palace and hopefully get them to link there. The purpose of this thread was exactly the same, even providing the link.

Just sayin' is all. I mean they are owned by a Canadian parent corporation and all and it's not like they'd be above something like planting people in blogs to get more people talking about this stuff. If you're not, well, sorry, but I just am growing more and more suspicious every time I see any links to a commercial enterprise or product.
posted by Pollomacho at 6:54 AM on July 1, 2005




Strawberryviagra, there's also TatAD.
posted by dabitch at 7:12 AM on July 1, 2005


To be fair, Golden Palace didn't solicit her, but bought out her auction at her "buy it now" price; otherwise she would have gotten some other business's tattoo, and likely a lot less money -- the bidding was only up to $999.99.

The fact that the Buy It Now option was still available after bids were placed means there was a reserve on the auction so it would not have sold for $999.99. For all we know the reserve was $9999.99 and she got exactly what she thought her forehead was worth.
posted by dobbs at 7:26 AM on July 1, 2005


"It'll go as numb as your brain."

[this is good]
posted by c13 at 7:58 AM on July 1, 2005


i haven't even read the previous 30 comments yet, and i am guessing that this is pretty well-worn territory... but ADVERTISING sinks to new lows?! how about CRAZY PEOPLE WHO AUCTION THEIR BODY PARTS ON THE INTERNET have sunk to new lows?
posted by cusack at 8:07 AM on July 1, 2005


You see? Our economy's doing great, as long as we keep getting snappy young entrepreneurs like this lady!

On the other hand, you linked to Golden Palace on the front page. And I clicked on it. I feel dirty now. Don't do that again.
posted by fungible at 8:10 AM on July 1, 2005


i haven't even read the previous 30 comments yet, and i am guessing that this is pretty well-worn territory... but ADVERTISING sinks to new lows?! how about CRAZY PEOPLE WHO AUCTION THEIR BODY PARTS ON THE INTERNET have sunk to new lows?
posted by cusack at 8:13 AM on July 1, 2005


They're not doing this for her forhead, there doing this for the PR. GP does this sort of thing all the time.
posted by delmoi at 8:20 AM on July 1, 2005


("skank license plate")
Nice, hal9k. Misogyny like that is always funny.
posted by Flem Snopes at 5:10 AM PST on July 1 [!]


Fair enough and my apologies. I actually hate word tattoos equally across genders and have turned down all offers to design them. The Onion said it best in one of those right-side nonlink headlines: "Area Man Regrets 'Funky Cold Medina' Tattoo"
posted by hal9k at 8:21 AM on July 1, 2005


No, I do not work for Golden Palace. I work here.

I feel deeply sorry for this woman. She's going to have this branded on her for the rest of her life; $10K is not going to get her very far.
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 9:03 AM on July 1, 2005


The Deseret News is essentially owned by the LDS church (the Mormons), by the way. Is this the kind of story they might not fact check to closely because it helps cast gambling in a bad light?

After digging a smidge: the non-affiliated Salt Lake Tribune has the story too, so I guess maybe not.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 9:15 AM on July 1, 2005


So a blond(1) woman(2) in Utah(3), (probably) a Mormon(4), sells ad space on her face(5) to a casino(6), on the Internet(7), owned by Mohawk Indians(8), in Canada(9), to send her kid to a private school(10), so he'll get better grades(11).

I count eleven levels of irony. What do I win?
posted by davy at 9:33 AM on July 1, 2005


I count eleven levels of irony. What do I win?

Nothing. How's that for irony?
posted by thanotopsis at 9:50 AM on July 1, 2005


For instance...would you tattoo "google.com" on your forehead for $25K? How about "amazon.com" for $5K and a lifetime of free shipping? How much would it take to get you to tattoo "goatse.cx" on your forehead?

No. No. No.

I guess a tattoo seems like a very personal and permanent expression. What if you had to answer every phone call and start every conversation with McDonald's "I'm lovin' it"? How much would you charge for a year? For the rest of your life?
posted by mrgrimm at 9:53 AM on July 1, 2005


I emailed the writer. He replied.

Date: Fri, 1 Jul 2005 09:26:25 -0600
From: Aaron Falk
To: me
Subject: Re: Fake tattoo-ad

I actually sat in that tattoo parlor for a couple of hours. I watched the needle hit her forehead.
I watched the artist wipe the blood away. It's the real deal, as sad as that may be.
Thanks for the e-mail.

Sincerely,
Aaron Falk
http://deseretnews.com


* I still refuse to believe this. It does not look real.
posted by dabitch at 10:43 AM on July 1, 2005


Wouldn't socialism stop this sort of thing?
posted by pwedza at 10:43 AM on July 1, 2005


What if you had to answer every phone call and start every conversation with McDonald's "I'm lovin' it"?

Oh, man, you just brought back memories of the "Don't Say Hello" contest run by a radio station that employed me a million years ago. Pick residential numbers out of a phone book, call them (between 30 and 45 minutes after the hour, so you had some idea when they'd call) and if the person called said "I'm listening to KGIL 1260" before saying anything else, you won a jackpot that increased $12.60 an hour. During the holiday season you had to say "Merry Christmas KGIL 1260" (no options for Hannukah or Ramadan). Not a great moment in broadcasting.
posted by wendell at 10:50 AM on July 1, 2005


dirtynumbangelboy says : I feel deeply sorry for this woman. She's going to have this branded on her for the rest of her life; $10K is not going to get her very far.

Actually, I didn't see any mention in the article of how long she must wear the tattoo. If she can have it removed in a year, then it might not be so bad. However, it may cost more than $10K to get the tat removed, making this whole venture a net loss, or at best, a sort of loan with really crappy terms.

However, this brings up a concern I always have when I see someone with a facial tat - how the hell is this person going to get a job? I mean, even the worst jobs pay more than $10K a year. How can this possibly make any financial sense?
posted by afroblanca at 10:51 AM on July 1, 2005


tattoo-removals still leave scars, and on the forehad that scar would be plain as day.
posted by dabitch at 11:25 AM on July 1, 2005


I guess she could wear a ton of makeup on her forehead, all the time (or at least to get a job). I wonder if the terms of her deal mentioned anything about that.
posted by gurple at 11:43 AM on July 1, 2005


I guess she could wear a ton of makeup on her forehead, all the time (or at least to get a job).
posted by gurple at 11:43 AM PST on July 1 [!]


Done just so by several of the young in Japan. I saw sumpin on teh TV set a few weeks ago on how some, quite smitten by tattooing every inch of their bodies, resort to long sleeves and heavy makeup to get by in their public workaday. When the quite convincing makeup came off, a fully illustrated man appeared in the mirror. Can't find it. But this site touches on the same points of a small sect that hides in plain sight Tattoos hold a highly tabooed position in Japan.
posted by hal9k at 12:39 PM on July 1, 2005


Wouldn't socialism stop this sort of thing?

10K for a permanent face tattoo ad, yeah, this is exactly the kind of thing that would've bolstered socialist arguments, back when people still argued for socialism.

I gotta wonder how far 10k goes to pay for a private school. 1 year? What about next year, mom?
posted by telstar at 1:41 PM on July 1, 2005


A year? Try a semester. There's three on a year.
posted by dabitch at 1:58 PM on July 1, 2005


Is it just me or does Golden Palace remind other people of a mansion for urine? Its probably just me. Probably because there used to be a Chinese restaurant near my office called Golden Ocean, funny it didn't stay in business very long.

Because of their stupid stunts and stupid auction buys, I would have absolutely zero interest in staying there or giving them any of my money since they apparently have plenty to waste on stupid crap like this.

Ten grand won't buy much boarding school, that's for sure but it will buy a bit more if he's a day student. Still, there are an awful lot of things about this story that are sad and saddening like her saying $10K is like a million bucks to her.
posted by fenriq at 3:25 PM on July 1, 2005


Also, because the article calls her a real life pop-up ad, does that mean I can punch her in the face if she gets in my face trying to get me to read her forehead?

Not that I would, I'm just checking etiquette for dealing with real-life pop-ups.
posted by fenriq at 3:26 PM on July 1, 2005


Wouldn't socialism stop this sort of thing?

I was going to say that, but I got afraid of being accused of being a liberal like Bill Clinton.
posted by davy at 7:15 PM on July 1, 2005


dabitch: She's not the first one to get this done either. I'm not sure why you're so dubious about it, this is far from unheard of...
posted by glider at 5:37 AM on July 2, 2005


Yeah, this looks all too real to me. It's weird though, considering just a decade or two ago, most tattoo artists would not even do facial tattoos, let alone forehead ads. Forehead ads of online casinos. jesus, it's really like a joke out of a bad 'dystopian future' book or something...

The really sad part, though, is that she thinks $10K is going to change her life. I want to hear an update on her in 2 years.
posted by mdn at 8:14 AM on July 2, 2005


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