Olympian Auctions Shoulder For Ad Space

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Olympian Nick Symmonds is offering people the opportunity to purchase advertisement space on his right shoulder. Symmonds, a two-time Olympian, posted a listing to eBay offering nine inches of his left arm to be used as advertising during the 2016 Outdoor Track and Field season. “The winner of this auction is free to use the 9 square inches of advertising space how they choose, but the advertisement must take the form of a logo, website URL, and/or social media username,” the listing states. “The advertisement will be adhered to my shoulder as a temporary tattoo.”

Symmonds held a similar auction in 2012 when he sold advertising space to marketing agency Hanson Dodge Creative for $11,000 and his left shoulder is set to bear an advertisement for his own caffeinated gum company, Run Gum. Through this auction Symmonds hopes to raise awareness about rules regarding the placement of advertisements during Olympic and track and field competitions.

“Due to antiquated rules, during all IAAF, USOC, and IOC governed competitions, I will be forced to tape over all forms of advertising on my body except the logos of my apparel and equipment manufacturers,” he wrote. “Though these absurd rules certainly diminish an investment in an athlete, please know that I will put in extra effort to ensure that the winner of this auction realizes a fantastic return on investment.”

While Symmonds has not yet been chosen to compete in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil, he cited his past two Olympic performances and his title as defending USA Champion at 800m as reasons for the investment. The auction, which ends on May 5, has attracted 73 bids. It launched with a starting price of 99 cents, as Symmonds advertised on Twitter along with the hashtag #OwnYourSkin, but reached as high as $6,100 in the first two days.

UPI.