Apparently July is a hot month for ad trials in Japan, as just weeks after a number of 65-inch digital posters were installed in a Tokyo train station, in flies word that yet another consumer-luring installation is being tested. Recruit and NTT Communications are delivering Scent-emitting LCD Display Systems to an underground mall in the heart of Japan, each of which rely on a 42-inch LCD and a scent-sprayer that emits delightful odors to correspond with the on-screen imagery. The goal is to attract onlookers and get them to grab a nearby coupon book, but considering that the experiment shuts down on August 1st, you should probably get your nose down there in a hurry if you're looking to score some savings.

For better or worse, targeted advertising isn't going anywhere. Seemingly, it's not getting any more discrete, either. NEC's Digital Signage Solution combines a camera, a large display and a FeliCa contactless IC card reader / writer in order to dole out advertisements that cater to certain demographics. The system includes the innate ability to determine "gender, generation and other attributes" of a person in order to serve up advertisements that will cause him / her to spend some dough. From there, the individual can scan their phone in order to access related content on their mobile internet browser. That's all and fine and dandy we suppose, but how on Earth do you convince busy citizens to stop by and have a look at an otherwise uninteresting flat-panel?

[Image courtesy of NEC]

The launch of the next-generation Vectra (or Insignia, as it has become) has been a long time coming, and Vauxhall is making good and sure everyone notices now that its time has arrived. As part of an elaborate marketing scheme, the automaker crashed a UFO in Potters Fields Park in London, and there was even a fence, men in dark glasses that were evidently mute and copious amounts of smoke to set the scene. Just how this relates to a new motorcar? You've got us there.

[Via Black-Night-Sky]

Not that London isn't the unofficial home to weird ads or anything, but this one is just taking things way too far. Reportedly, deodorant manufacturer Right Guard has created an armpit-based method of advertising which has cleverly been dubbed "pitvertising." We've no idea if the trial will turn into anything permanent, but unless garb with these displays are given away for free, we can't imagine too many self-respecting Londoners becoming walking stare magnets just because.

[Via textually]

Putting cameras in billboards to measure how many people look at them isn't a new idea, but it's starting to get a little more creepily-high-tech, with several advertisers now using facial-recognition software to record things like age and gender. A company called Quividi has supplied camera-equipped ads to McDonald's in Singapore and Ikea in Europe, and it's now bringing the tech to the States, where it's been deployed in New York in ads for A&E's The Andromeda Strain mini-series and in Philadelphia in train station ads for the Philadelphia Soul. Another company called TruMedia Technologies has supplied similar tech to about 30 locations in the US, including malls in Chesterfield, Missouri, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and Monroeville, Pennsylvania. None of the systems currently record or store video, but no one's ruling that out as a possibility -- and even worse, there's talk of gathering racial data in an effort to even further target ads. Great, now we have yet another reason to break out the Nixon mask every time we leave the house.

[Via Techdirt]

We had a pretty good idea that not only was this whole "Biggest Drawing in the World" business fake, but also impossible. First, we were skeptical that DHL could make deliveries based on coordinate instructions. Then, we determined -- with little effort -- that the little campaign was a DHL ad. Now we have a straight-up admission from artist Erik Nordenenkar and DHL that entire thing was fictional. Appearing at the bottom of Erik's site -- after the fact and millions of hits -- are the following words: "This is fictional work. DHL did not transport the GPS at any time." Meanwhile, DHL offered that this was an innocent college project and they were happy to let Nordenenkar film in their warehouse, use their name, and make false claims regarding the whole shenanigan. So, there you have it. The videos, briefcase, DHL receipts -- all spam. Move along.

[Via Wired]

Microsoft turned a few heads at its Advance '08 advertising conference by announcing a type of ads for its Zune platform, in addition to those web, TV and Xbox "branding experiences" it already delivers. The primary method described merely involved corporate sponsorships of celebrity playlists, with the "ad" being consigned to branding on that musician's Social card -- and you'd have to have friended the musician to see any of it at all. Apocalyptic stuff, eh? Microsoft also promises to keep the ads appropriate for the audience, so we're not going to start panicking just yet, but the first DAP builder to make us sit through a minute of ads every time we try to sync with our computer is sure score the (oh, hey, thanks for the $100, Microsoft!) scorn and vitriol love and affection of its customers for years to come.

Some of you keen readers pieced all this together already, but that commercial you've been seeing about an "all new television series" dubbed Scarlet isn't a new show at all; rather, it's a risky move by LG to push its Scarlet LCD HDTVs. The sets themselves have been out and about already, and while the specifications aren't anything to sneeze at, the displays aren't nearly as seductive as the 30 second spot. The idea was crafted and put into motion by LG global brand marketing VP Kwan-Sup Lee and a team of advertising / marketing agencies, and while it refused to disclose exactly how much it has spent on the endeavor, it did affirm that it was "millions more than a typical product launch in the US." Sure, we can appreciate the envelope pushing, but now that we're all psyched about the show, it's a bit of a letdown to know we'll never actually be able to tune in. Check out the ad in its entirety after the jump.

Nothing says Valentine's Day like trying to cash in on a vulnerable, insecure relationship -- and it looks like Palm's doing its best to, ahem, "be there" for Blackberry addicts left a little shaken by Monday's network outage. The company's taken out full page ads in several national papers and changed its homepage to read that Palm devices include a little something called "uptime" -- which is actually pretty funny since we've got a Treo 750 here that's been rendered all-but-useless by AT&T's various outages these past few weeks, but we'll still grant points for panache. Of course, that still doesn't change the fact that a recent survey ranked Palm dead last in customer satisfaction, but since when has being a homewrecker had anything to do with long-term happiness?

[Via coolsmartphone]

From the weird to the shameless, from the unintentionally funny to the downright questionable, we've rounded up some of the best of the worst ad campaigns seen around the show floor at CES 2008.



More Best of the Worst

• CES 2008 booth gimmickery: Best of the worst
• CES 2008 product names: Best of the worst
• CES 2008 Crapgadget
• The fugliest laptop you'll see all day
• CES 2008: Fugliest headphones awards

As marketers continue to search for (and exploit) places in which you'd never think to find an ad, it makes sense to scroll a few plugs through an item that the vast majority of us spend at least a few hours per week touching. That item, dear friends, is the handle of the tried and true shopping cart, and apparently, Modstream is hoping to install bars with scrolling displays onto buggies and allow companies to beam in messages wirelessly. The system works by allowing outfits to access a web-based profile, enter in a given message, and transmit the ad to participating stores. As an added bonus, the setup enables said companies to change up their messages on a whim and keeps us shoppers guessing as to what clever line is coming next. Now, who's down with hacking this thing to scroll through our favorite RSS feeds?

[Via Textually]

Don't you dare criticize TiVo's ad collecting / disseminating department for slacking off, as just months after it launched StopWatch to offer up second-by-second viewing data, the company is planning to also hand over demographic information about its customers. The move is certainly likely to shift TiVo into Big Brother's list of most highly-regarded outfits, as the information that will soon be shared with advertisers (we're hearing it may be opt-in only, however) includes "age, income, marital status and ethnicity." There's no telling how much coinage TiVo will be raking in for such detailed data, but at least willing users can now watch intently knowing full well that they're letting it all (and we mean all) hang out.

Update: Turns out this is indeed an opt-in program. Thanks, Jake!

[Via Reuters]

We'll be straight: Millennia certainly isn't the easiest robot on the eyes, but apparently it can hold a conversation like no other. According to its maker, International Robotics, this adult-sized, multilingual creation can "communicate with any age, social, ethnic or cultural group in any type of environment." As if those bold claims weren't enough, the WiFi-equipped bot can also "act as an effective PR, marketing, advertising, promotional, educational or entertainment tool," and it can be remotely controlled in case you just don't trust it to shoot from the hip. No word on pricing just yet, but we'd imagine this fellow could practically sell itself.

[Via PRNewser]

As Wal-Mart continues to inch ever closer to knowing our very thoughts as we peruse its aisles, the mega-corporation has announced plans to install narrowcasting digital displays in its Canadian locales. Reportedly, EK3 Technologies' subsidiary company ShopCast "has signed an exclusive agreement to install EK3 digital merchandising solutions in Wal-Mart Canada stores," which could mean that spots would air based on current buying trends or inventory levels. This dynamic approach to filling customers' heads with ideas of what to purchase will supposedly "enable [Wal-Mart] to strategically reach out to guests in-store to inform, entertain and help save them money." There's no word as to when this could hit US-based Wally Worlds, but it probably won't be long.

[Via InformationWeek, image courtesy of USA Today]

Sure, we've seen a plethora of interactive billboards before, but Mark Ecko's (credit to Benjamin Busse) latest eye-catcher could seriously make you miss your ride. This brilliantly designed ad sports an LCD that can be painted up by your Bluetooth cellphone, as it allows passers to use their mobile as a spray can to decorate the screen as they please. No word on whether this thing accepts multiple connections or not, but a tagging duel would be mighty fine entertainment whilst waiting on the next bus.

[Via AdGoodness, thanks John]