These days we see the selling of naming rights on sports venues, there are ads on the floors of supermarkets, athletes have fast food for their official restaurants, a computer geek can rent space on his chest, a film student can give away space on hers and people in London are apparently advertising on their foreheads.
Does going to Ericsson stadium – or even seeing the name on the news – make me want to go get an Ericsson phone? No. The only phone I even remotely wanted that had Ericsson involvement (the T608) is likely dead before it has even launched.
Because Olympians have McDonald’s as their official restaurant, does that make me want to go get a Big Mac, so I can compete in 2004? Uh, no. Doesn’t seem to make much sense that a single item with so many calories would even show up on any athlete’s radar come dinner time.
In the Tom Cruise flick Minority Report, we see ads that are nearly alive and breathing, hawking all sorts of selections tailored just to you, your purchasing habits and your interests. That’s actually pretty cool – but when will it end?!?