Unexpected tattoo in the bagging area: Man goes viral for creme egg barcode tattoo
As he walked into the store, Matt Woodger was instantly recognised by a member of staff as being “the man with the creme egg tattoo”
Matt Woodger, from Derby, has gone viral online after having the barcode of a Creme Egg tattooed on his lower arm – because they’re notorious for not scanning.
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The former retail worker said staff across the country have memorised the barcode numbers (5020 1600, if you were wondering) because they often have to be manually entered into tills due to the crinkles in the iconic foil packaging. Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, which first went on sale in the UK in 1971, are best known for their distinctive foil wrap and fondant centre.
Now, taking matters into his own hands (or arm) for a quicker scan, Matt had the barcode inked onto his arm, and LBC joined him as he went to test it out on a self-checkout till.
As we walked into the store, Matt was instantly recognised by a member of staff as being “the man with the creme egg tattoo”.
After giving the barcode reader a quick wipe to make sure it had maximum ability to scan, Matt’s barcode was met with a beep, and “CAD CREME EGG” appeared on the till screen.
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Speaking to LBC about the tattoo, he said: “I must have been 15 or 16, and I just made a jokey comment that one day it would be easier if I got the barcode tattooed, and I never really thought it would become reality, it was just a passing comment.”
Mr Woodger explained that he wasn’t alone in his frustration at the barcode’s difficulty to scan. He said: “The surprising thing that has come from all of this is in the comments on my video, it’s the number of people who can relate to memorising that barcode number, and know it off by heart even now, years later. That’s totally the idea behind the tattoo.”
Matt said he realised he’d gone viral after collecting his children one evening, when his 17-year-old son told him the video had taken off online. It has now been seen by more than 14 million people across social media platforms, after Matt started with just 15 followers on TikTok.
Describing his rise to social media fame, Matt said: “It’s absolutely mind-blowing, but it seems to have made a lot of people laugh around the world, which is the bit I like the most, that’s the most rewarding bit.”
On the journey to Sainsbury’s to scan the barcode, Matt told LBC that his cousins living in Australia had also seen the video after it went viral on social media.
He told LBC that when Creme Eggs go off sale after Easter, he’ll start thinking about what other tattoos he could have lined up.
LBC has approached Cadbury’s owners Mondelez for a comment.