New Ad Technology Tracks Consumer Movement

mingrassia writes "Over at CNN: New technology tracks consumer movement, flashes messages and calls out to passersby. Meet the Human Locator. It's a new technology developed by Canadian ad agency Freeset Interactive that purports to detect when humans are near, track their movement, and then broadcast messages directed at them on a nearby screen. Conspiracy theorists can relax, however. The Human Locator can't yet identify, say, obese pedestrians and then bombard them with images of a cheeseburger and fries."

Hey, I saw this

[Anonymous Coward]

In Minority Report. Next thing you know I'll have to change my eyes.

or yet...

[vistic]

The Human Locator can't yet identify, say, obese pedestrians and then bombard them with images of a cheeseburger and fries.

....or yet identify a slashdot geek and advertise case mods, acne cream, video games, and dating services.

real-world popup ads :(

[terrymaster69]

So they've finally found a way to bring pop-up ads into the real-world...

I guess it was only a matter of time. Now I need some kind of pop-up blocker!

Hmm...maybe a tinfoil hat will work??

GRETINGS!!!!

[Anonymous Coward]

YOU DO NOT KNOW BE MUT PLEASE TO INTRODUCE myself. i mean know harm to , and god willing, only good shall come from this video screen. i am alandra seko seso, of the african republic of....

Re:real-world popup ads :(

[Anonymous Coward]

Hmm...maybe a tinfoil hat will work??

How about a baseball bat?

Hmmm

[value_added]

"It's a new technology ... that purports to detect when humans are near, track their movement, and then broadcast messages directed at them ..."

Seems to me I already get that at freeway off-ramps.

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Say...

[Anonymous Coward]

"Hello, Sir. You look like a man who nees a larger penis!"

OK..

[dr_labrat]

Conspiracy theorists can relax, however. The Human Locator can't yet identify, say, obese pedestrians and then bombard them with images of a cheeseburger and fries.

Sooo. What fucking good is it, then???

-1, Flamebait, but...

[penguinoid]

In Capitalist America, adds watch YOU!

Interesting thought

[toetagger1]

So when I walk out of Victoria Secret, will I see some advertisement with pritty woment withouth much clothign?

Re:real-world popup ads :(

[penguinoid]

1) Take several catalogues, newspaper adds, etc. You will need about 5 kg, or less if it is packed tightly.
2) Throw ball of adds at "pop-up" add machine. You can say, "Well, it bombarded me with adds first!"
3) Last step left as an exercise to the reader.

Re:or yet...

[evslin]

....or yet identify a slashdot geek and advertise case mods, acne cream, video games, and dating services.

Or how about a new copy of 1984?

/ducks

Re:How long before they do identify you?

[Snad]

I think age would come before sex

Surely dinner and a movie comes before sex?

fat family

[eliphas_levy]

The Human Locator can't yet identify, say, obese pedestrians and then bombard them with images of a cheeseburger and fries.

They already do that, it's called TV ads. Maybe it can go a way ahead targeting the dud that got outside to buy more cheeseburger and fries.

nice, but...

[PsiPsiStar]

can it pick up chicks?

Wasn't this technology developed by construction workers quite some time ago?

It's sad when a human being's job is replaced by a machine. Of course, it it can't recognize fat people, then I suppose the technology still has a ways to go in this regards.

Re:Yuuummm....

[dr_labrat]

Or get the urge to

Get a free Fucking Ipod [suckmydonkeyballs.com]

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[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Contradiction in terms?

[menscher]

...can't yet identify, say, obese pedestrians...

Have you ever seen an obese pedestrian? No? Didn't think so. Obese people don't walk. That's why they're obese.

Humbly submitted to the mods, who can fight over whether this is insightful, funny, troll, or flamebait.

Advertising directed only to humans

[bayerwerke]

Imagine how much advertising is wasted on animals, objects, the sky, moon, ect.. Now the technology is here to target only people. What a breakthrough !

Re:Fried detetor

[AndroidCat]

"Sorry officer, but I was trying out this new super bubble-gum and I was standing a bit too close..."

As for me, the average male...

[DarkHelmet]

Any technology that will prevent me from ever having to see or hear a tampon or yeast infection commercial ever again is fine by my book.

I saw this too

[cgenman]

I went to the grocery store the other day, and as I was walking up close to the door the darned thing opened for me. It was the weirdest thing ever. Then, when I got to the other side... It closed.

Creepy.

Re:real-world popup ads :(

[syousef]

Have you never heard of billboards?

After a long day at the office...

[Infonaut]

one of the guys at Freeset Interactive gets home, and sits down for a bottle of beer. His dear mother calls him on the phone. "Honey, what did you do at work today?"

Proud of his latest effort, our hero replies, "Well Mom, we just discovered a way to help advertisers track people and shove ads down their throats at every possible opportunity. I think this is going to make us a big bundle of money!"

Dear sweet Mother replies: "You know, I've never told you this until now, but you're adopted. We picked you up from an adoption service in the States."

Re:real-world popup ads :(

[Volmarias]

Billboards are like banner ads. You can look at them. Or not.

You're thinking of "Gremlin holding wheaties advertisement popping out of your steering column and blocking your vision of the road for the next 3-4 seconds until your car crashes while you try and kill it (except every time you smack it another one pops out!)"

Conspiracy theorists

[Colonel Cholling]

Conspiracy theorists can relax, however.

Sure, that's just what THEY want us to do...

Re:Hey, I saw this

[boarsai]

I'm just waiting for the day some bastard goatse's a electronic bill board overlooking a highway... lets hope they're smart enough to keep them "unplugged" from the net. It could happen to your (net) fridge - good way to keep people away from the fridge tho... we shall call it the goatse diet. Keeping fatties thin. U G H .

Can't wait to blow some little robot's CPU

[divot2001]

I for one eagerly await the growing population of quasi-intelligent robots just so I can torment them on new and exciting levels. Such as going to stores in order to find a combination of items that when obtained will overload the robots memory capacity and literally blow it's little mind.

Re:I saw this too

[krogoth]

Here's your chance to get on the slashdot frontpage! Submit something about how stores... no, the government... wait, the Illuminati, that's it, are tracking you, and using their telekinesis powers to open doors in front of you. They're only doing it in stores now, so it can be explained away with technology, but it's only a matter of time before they have total control over us.

That would be about as accurate as this story, so you should have no trouble getting it accepted.

Re:I saw this too

[Anonymous Coward]

Once I was walking into a Target, and the automatic door failed to open when I approached it. I stopped about 1 inch from the door.
I yelled out, "I have no soul!"
My friend walked up behind me, and the door opened.

Slightly more creepy.