Nottingham, UK -- Gillette and French ad agency CLM BBDO, with help from scientists at the University of Nottingham used nanotechnology to etch ads on the whiskers of a man's shaven beard; each ad is less than 100 microns in size , setting the world record for the Smallest ad.
Photo: Using the NNNC's Focussed ion beam - scanning electron microscope, Dr Chris Parmenter has made the smallest adverts ever. The advert, for Gillette's latest range of men's razor blades, was made on the end of a single cut beard hair. Photo by: (enlarge photo)
The Guinness world record for the largest advertisement on a building was for the Financial Times newspaper covering an area of 19,125.48 m² (205,865.02 ft²).
Guinness World Records also recognized the the largest advertisement in a periodical, which measured 402 cm (13 ft 2 in) wide by 270 cm (8 ft 10 in) tall.
Using an electron microscope, an ion etching device, and some University of Nottingham scientists, Gillete wrote a series of ads smaller than 100 micron on whiskers shaved with their razors.
The ads are for Gillette's latest blade, the Proglide.
Wanting to appeal to an audience larger than dust mites, Gillette used images of the hairs as part of a larger campaign.
Each ad is less than 100 microns in size. Obviously, that makes them impossible to see, so Gillette blew the images up for print and poster ads. The adverts appeared in the Independent over Easter, and on posters at airports in France.
Some of the ad-hairs were left in men's bathrooms at airports, along with QR codes you could scan to learn more about the ads written on them.
NC's Focussed ion beam - scanning electron microscope, Dr Chris Parmenter has made the smallest adverts ever. The advert, for Gillette's latest range of men's razor blades, was made on the end of a single cut beard hair. Photo by: (
