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Ad revolution set for 2015

Kathryn McConnachie
By Kathryn McConnachie, Digital Media Editor at ITWeb.
Johannesburg, 17 Mar 2011

Ad revolution set for 2015

Experts say the revolution in outdoor advertising is set to arrive by 2015 with the creation of 'gladvertising' writes Metro.

Steven Spielberg's science fiction film 'Minority Report' portrayed a 2054 world in which adverts 'recognise' people and blurt out words such as: 'You could use a Guinness!

According to CityAM, cameras backed by advanced emotion recognition software will detect a consumer's mood and then target them with an advert.

Its 'face-tracking algorithm' can distinguish between six emotions: happy, angry, sad, fearful, surprised and disgusted.

But campaigners have warned about the threat to privacy as companies will be able to access personal information. Digital billboards will link with next-generation smartphones and offer 'interactive experiences'.

They will have access to details such as body shape, anniversaries and favourite food.

"We feel that it is an industry that has so far gone unchallenged and because of this they are developing some scary stuff," says Alexander Hanff from Privacy International.

"We have a situation where the boundaries between our online and offline worlds become even more blurred and we currently have no regulatory or legislative regime in place to deal with these dangers."

BBC says one key concern for the public will be how personal data is collected, and by whom. One floated suggestion is to use publicly available social networking information. Another is to tap in to existing market research.

Hanff also suggests the interactive nature of 'Gladverts' may offer a service in return for information - a trend already seen with public Wifi hotspots which require assorted personal details before use.

"We wouldn't be surprised to see digital signage also serving as WiFi hotspots in the future to collect even more data.”

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