Buy My Face?

So, you’ve just graduated; three years of hard work and grind under your belt, respectable degree in hand ta very much and then you venture out past the safe bubble of uni to find that there are no jobs out there for you. Well that was the situation Cambridge graduates Ross and Ed, and thousands more besides, found themselves in upon graduating earlier this year. Of course, like most rational people they decided to buy shit-loads of face-paint and sell their own faces as advertising space for the next 366 days in an attempt to pay off their student loans. Obviously.

Buy My Face’s website bio reads: “Picture two financially crippled university students. Having lived like metaphorical kings for the last three years, they are sucker punched by the cruel hard fist of the real world. Now, scared, desperate and confused, they do what they swore they never would, and begin selling their bodies to anyone willing to pay.” But can this really be a serious venture? Can two students with little to arm themselves with other than “a firm grasp of the principles of viral advertising” possibly hope to pay off a combined student debt amassing to a whopping 50Kjust painting their faces for a year?

But unlikely as this is, the boys made an impressive £3,500 in just the first ten days of the scheme which began back in October, and they seem ever more likely to reach their goal. They started out charging a measly £1 a day for the service of painting their faces with business logos but have since recognised the potential which the venture has to offer and upped the stakes a bit, saying that as the year progresses and interest “snowballs” they will charge more.

And the great part? It’s not just a service for the big companies and businesses. The website suggests buying Ross and Ed’s faces to celebrate a friend’s birthday, for marriage proposals, or maybe if you just want to see two grown men walking around town with your name on their face? Whatever does it for you. Recent buyers include Piper’s Crisps, Frozen Rocktails and the charity Diverse Abilities. It’s definitely an interesting take on viral marketing, and with such a niche hold on guerilla-style advertising, the boys have an undeniable edge to their business. Student Hannah Cope said of the scheme: “This is such a clever idea and as a budding entrepreneur myself, I fully support Buy My Face. But where are all the entrepreneurs of Durham? I’d love to start up a rival business with other Durham graduates: Buy My Boobs.” Watch this space.

Considering graduate unemployment is at its highest in a decade this is an impressive solution. Many graduates end up caving to the inevitable and soul-destroying move back home to suck up a year of work in an attempt to make some sort of dent into their re-payments. So if you can find a way to beat the unemployment figures then more power to you, as the website itself says: “Face it! It’s brilliant!”