Kerala Vlogger Makes Rs 50,000 By Turning His Bald Head Into an Ad Space, And It’s Only Just Beginning
Kerala Vlogger Makes Rs 50,000 By Turning His Bald Head Into an Ad Space, And It’s Only Just Beginning
Back in early 2025, Kerala-based travel vlogger Shafeek Hashim caught the internet’s attention with an unusual marketing idea: turning his bald head into a billboard. The 36-year-old from Alappuzha district bagged his first advertising deal worth ₹50,000 by featuring a temporary tattoo of a hair and skin clinic’s logo on his scalp.
While the buzz around the move made headlines at the time, the viral stunt also raised eyebrows, sparked debate, and opened up conversations on body image and creative self-branding.
Who is Shafeek Hashim?
Shafeek, who runs the YouTube channel ‘70mm Vlogs’ with over 27,000 subscribers, had originally been contemplating a hair transplant. Instead, he chose to lean into his baldness and pitch it as an advertising opportunity. In doing so, he challenged traditional views on baldness and boldly declared that confidence could be monetised, literally.
His post inviting brands to use his head as ad space quickly went viral. Within days, he had secured his first deal with Kochi-based clinic La Densitae, which has branches across India.
Under the three-month agreement, Shafeek featured the clinic’s logo on his scalp across multiple travel vlogs. Though the tattoo was temporary and removable, its visibility, and novelty, was hard to miss. More than a marketing gimmick, it was a statement about owning one’s appearance and using it to spark dialogue.
Shafeek had said at the time, “I was teased in college for my baldness. Now, I want to promote confidence and show others that it’s okay to look different.”
What’s Next for Shafeek?
The concept may have made headlines months ago, but it still stands out as one of the most unique advertising strategies seen in the Indian digital creator space. Since then, Shafeek has continued building his YouTube channel and hinted at wanting to explore similar collaborations in the future.
Whether the world is ready for more “scalpvertising” or not, Shafeek’s gamble proved one thing, when creativity meets courage, even a bald head can become prime real estate.
