Tattoo studio can’t advertise on buses, so switches to cars
CHRISTINE CULLEN
Staff Writer
Independent Tattoo magnets are available at the shop.
(May 28, 2010) The town of Ocean City may have turned down the request of Independent Tattoo to advertise on the city’s buses, but that does not mean the tattoo studio’s ad will not be seen in the resort.
The Selbyville tattoo business has turned the ad they wished to run on the bus into large magnets that employees and supporters have stuck to their cars. This was in response to the decision of Ocean City’s City Manager Dennis Dare in March to deny the shop’s request to advertise on the back of a city bus.
“This is exactly the same ad. It’s just scaled down to fit on the magnet,” Independent Tattoo Manager Tasha Nilsen said.
The employees at the shop were discouraged when Ocean City refused to run their ad – featuring the company’s name and phone number, a pink flower and stylized swirls – because officials said they did not feel a tattoo shop was the right kind of company to promote in a family resort. Nilsen said it was a customer of the shop who came up with the idea of how to get around the denial.
“One of our clients actually suggested making the ad into car magnets,” she said. “We thought it was so creative.”
The ad was scaled down to fit on the 12- by 18-inch magnet and the shop initially printed a small number for the employees and close friends who eagerly affixed them to the back or sides of their cars. Nilsen said it wasn’t long before the popularity of the magnets grew and the shop decided to print more and sell them to supporters.
“Everybody at the shop has one, and some of our friends got some. We had such a great response, we had more created and decided to sell them at cost. Now we get to advertise whenever we drive through Ocean City,” she said. “This is very visible and, we think, very pretty.”
Independent Tattoo is selling the magnets for $20 each, which Nilsen said is the cost of producing them. The shop makes no money on the venture.
The magnets are available at Independent Tattoo, located in the West Fenwick Station shopping center on Route 54 in Selbyville.
