Darwin-esque advertisements have been unleashed on the streets of London. Marketing firm M&C Saatchi is currently testing interactive billboards that change depending on the perceived mood of the viewer.
Marketing agencies have attempted some downright strange campaigns over the years, like Burger King’s subservient chicken and Poo Pourri’s viral potty humor videos—but do these billboards cross the line?
A Darwinian Experiment
Promoting a fictional coffee brand called, “Bahio,” these billboards are equipped with Microsoft Kinect cameras that take photos of consumer expressions as they view an ad. A genetic algorithm is then able to assess whether the viewer looks neutral, happy or sad and can alter the design, colors, fonts, etc. to better suit the viewer’s mood.
Per AdverBlog, “Genes (or ads) which fail to trigger an engagement will be ‘killed off,’ whereas those which prompt an engaged reaction will be reproduced in future executions…Not only that, but a small amount of these genes will mutate at random, meaning that the next generation has a chance to naturally improve over time.”
Darwin would be proud. But as more marketing agencies jump on this new bandwagon, should privacy be a real concern for consumers?
Data Not Saved
Advertising research is nothing new. Marketing agencies have relied on both quantitative and qualitative research to improve campaigns for decades. The surge in technology has led to more targeted and more intrusive research.
Per The Conversation, Saatchi’s advertisements do not store any images and have no way of telling who anyone is. Saatchi claims captured facial shapes are only used to alter design based on a perceived emotional response.
If this is true, there is no reason to panic over a little bit of artificial intelligence—as long as its use remains so narrowly focused. More troubling research has been happening for years. Advertisers and their marketing agencies have latched onto consumers through the Internet, tracking everything from website visits and visit times to software information and physical location of the user.
So yes, it is a bit creepy that an advertisement can read your emotions in real time and react accordingly, but it’s a lot less scary than having our every online movement tracked and recorded.
Alex Kirkwood writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. She writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter
Marketing agencies have attempted some downright strange campaigns over the years, like Burger King’s subservient chicken and Poo Pourri’s viral potty humor videos—but do these billboards cross the line?
A Darwinian Experiment
Promoting a fictional coffee brand called, “Bahio,” these billboards are equipped with Microsoft Kinect cameras that take photos of consumer expressions as they view an ad. A genetic algorithm is then able to assess whether the viewer looks neutral, happy or sad and can alter the design, colors, fonts, etc. to better suit the viewer’s mood.
Per AdverBlog, “Genes (or ads) which fail to trigger an engagement will be ‘killed off,’ whereas those which prompt an engaged reaction will be reproduced in future executions…Not only that, but a small amount of these genes will mutate at random, meaning that the next generation has a chance to naturally improve over time.”
Darwin would be proud. But as more marketing agencies jump on this new bandwagon, should privacy be a real concern for consumers?
Data Not Saved
Advertising research is nothing new. Marketing agencies have relied on both quantitative and qualitative research to improve campaigns for decades. The surge in technology has led to more targeted and more intrusive research.
Per The Conversation, Saatchi’s advertisements do not store any images and have no way of telling who anyone is. Saatchi claims captured facial shapes are only used to alter design based on a perceived emotional response.
If this is true, there is no reason to panic over a little bit of artificial intelligence—as long as its use remains so narrowly focused. More troubling research has been happening for years. Advertisers and their marketing agencies have latched onto consumers through the Internet, tracking everything from website visits and visit times to software information and physical location of the user.
So yes, it is a bit creepy that an advertisement can read your emotions in real time and react accordingly, but it’s a lot less scary than having our every online movement tracked and recorded.
Alex Kirkwood writes for Fusion 360, an SEO and content marketing agency. She writes for many other clients as well. Follow on Twitter