Etched Advertising on a MacBook Pro

Remember my post a couple of months ago about my plan to put up my laptop lid as advertising space? It worked okay for Sacha Chua, whom I got the idea from. She was able to sell two large blocks for her BarCampEarth event in Toronto. I wasn’t so fortunate, though. But it still seemed a good idea, especially with the prevalence of laptops today, particularly in areas with good traffic, such as cafes and conferences.

But if you don’t have a laptop, you won’t have ad space to sell, right? I guess you just have to be creative. You can get the ads and brand new laptop to boot, just like what Leah Culver did.

When Leah Culver needed a new laptop, but had no money with which to buy it, she got creative. In exchange for $150 toward the purchase of a new machine, Leah offered local companies one square inch of advertising space on the back of the MacBook. What at first looked like a feeble attempt to raise the required funds soon evolved into a successful exercise in the power of the community at large, and Leah quickly had enough cash to buy her laptop.

Of course, one consideration would be that the laptop would seem commercialized, and the ads in this case are permanent, unless you decide to cover the lid with something. But the MacBook Pro has advantages. Firstly, it has relatively more lid real estate than other laptops, with either 15 or 17 inch widescreen. Second, the casing is made of anodized aluminum, so advertisers contributing to the purchase of the computer would be more comfortable knowing their ads would be more or less permanent (a good selling factor).

[via TUAW]

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