It’s rather like Marcel Sydney’s Air-Ink for Tiger Beer, which won a Gold and a Silver Lion at Cannes last month, but Team One Los Angeles has given the idea of ink made from exhaust fumes a trendy twist.

Saatchi & Saatchi’s premium and luxury brand agency has created tattoo ink using the burnout residue from motocross star, Carey Hart’s, Indian Scout Hooligan motorbike. And yes, the ink was made safe and sterile first.

The idea was created to promote Indian Motorcycles, America’s first motorcycle company established in 1901.

“Indian Motorcycle Ink embodies our value of leading, rather than following, to blaze entirely new trails where others have never ventured,” said Reid Wilson, director of marketing for Indian in a statement.

The first ever batch of Indian Ink was created by tattoo artist and ink maker, Franco Vescovi, of Nocturnal Ink and the campaign video shows it being used for the first time to tattoo the name of Hart’s newborn son on Carey Hart’s neck.

To enhance the campaign, Indian Ink is available to the public at Vescovi’s Vatican Studios in California and at Hart & Huntington Tattoo shop in Las Vegas, Nashville, Orlando and Niagara Falls. Indian Motorcycles made just one batch, so the tattoos will only be available until the ink runs out. The campaign film directs viewers to the Indian Motorcycles’ campaign web page, where they can find details of the participating tattoo shops.

The full campaign includes an advertorial spread in the July/August issue of Inked Magazine.

Credits:

Client: Indian Motorcycle

Agency: Team One

Group Creative Director: Craig Crawford

Creative Director: Johnnie Ingram

Associate Creative Director: Geoff Vreeken

Producer: Leah Bohl

Associate Producer: Claire Allman

Account Director: Landon Nguyen

Account Supervisor: Justin West

Director: Leo Zuckerman

DoP: Leo Zuckerman

Producer: Andrea Sheffield

Photographer: Matt Hartz

Editor: Leo Zuckerman

Colourist: Clinton Homuth @ Alter Ego

Sound Design & Mix: Matt Kielkopf