There’s a mad inventor inside all of us, and when you have an idea sometimes it can be hard to know if it will work as a business or not. With this in mind, here are some of the wackiest successful business ideas to grace the marketplace. A lot of these were probably laughed at initially, but have flourished into successful businesses.
Frankfurter Converter – Octodogs
The Frankfurter Converter is a device which slices hotdogs into eight slices, creating an “octodog”. The reason for its creation is described on the website: Because the hotdog is apparently among the top ten items found in lists of food which leads to choking in young children. According to their website, Paediatricians have recommended slicing hotdogs long ways, to reduce the chances of someone choking when eating it. A sliced hotdog is a safer hotdog, and it also looks a bit like an octopus, which is fun.
Forehead Advertising
The name is fairly self-explanatory, as forehead advertising is the concept that people’s foreheads are potential locations for advertising collateral.
The concept was originally dreamed up by an organisation called Headvertise in 2002. The idea garnered significant media interest, and before long individuals were renting their own foreheads out to advertisers on eBay. Some even tattooed their skin with paid advertising messages. It was particularly popular with college and university students who had been hit by the introduction of student loans and top-up fees.
SantaMail
It’s simple, and genius. Byron Reese simply obtained a postal address at the North Pole in Alaska, and now charges parents for special letters sent ‘from Santa’ to their kids. Reese has sent over 200,000 letters since 2001. It gives kids the chance to write a letter to Father Christmas which won’t simply end up in the bin. Kids will receive a personalised letter from Santa with a North Pole post mark.
Backvertising
Rethink Communications have begun advertising campaigns using men’s hairy backs. Recently a man’s back hair was shaved so that a bald patch read “Parissa’s Wax Strips”. He was paraded around a busy beach, as onlookers gathered to take pictures and to see demonstrations of the wax strips in action. Obviously exposed backs aren’t suitable for all situations, but a crowded beach seems like the perfect place to advertise on flesh.
In theory, this type of advertising could work on any exposed area of the human body which is hairy enough to shave.
Dog Wash
This is quite a leap for the world of vending machines; from chocolate, to toothpaste, to dog-washing. This vending machine means that you don’t need to let a dirty dog back into your car or your home. First, you can have him serviced in the Dog Wash. It offers a full bathing and grooming service, with 6 different wash cycles, a hand-held wash gun and 2 drying options.
Photo credits: gamene, pinguino, and net_efekt via Flickr