Paying off student loans is never easy, even more so when decent-paying jobs are few and far between. Which is exactly what drove two British students to turn their faces into marketing and advertising real estate.

When Ross Harper and Ed Moyse graduated from university they were faced with a combined student debt of around R500 000 and the prospect of an “incredibly hostile” jobs market. With that daunting knowledge seared into their minds and “a firm grasp of the principles of viral advertising”, the duo came up with a concept that ended up yielding them thousands of rand and no doubt the attention of several marketing agencies.

Although news of the duo’s ambitious plans broke earlier this year, it’s only now that the real success of their efforts can be measured. The former Cambridge students said that they made close to R50 000 in the first week alone, and from there things just got better.

It has exceeded expectations, but we always knew it had value and is novel and crazy.

They started small, selling their faces for as little as £1 a day, but now can demand anything up to £400, and possibly even more, for a single ad. With a goal of selling their faces “EVERY single day” – having a different ad on their faces every day, for a year – it’s no surprise that earnings haven’t been sparse.

They do all their business via their mobile site buymyface.com and have attracted several prominent clients including model aircraft maker Airfix and Irish bookmaker Paddy Power.

Next, the dynamic duo plan to launch an iPhone photo sharing app. Original.

Here are a few of their ads.

[Source: news.au.com, Daily Mail]