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]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
bohsocks @ Jun 4th 2008 2:42PM
FOCUS GROUPS BE DAMNED!
Jason @ Jun 4th 2008 2:44PM
Please, give us back the focus groups if this is the alternative!
Or, we could resort to throwing marketing executives from their top floor windows...
JJV @ Jun 4th 2008 3:05PM
isnt this sort of a violation of privacy?
i mena generally on websites and where you sign up for things you accept privacy policy saying they can take your information and do yadda yadda, but there is no warning for this.
Mark L. @ Jun 4th 2008 4:02PM
You are in public space. You have no privacy. If you want privacy go home.
Lars @ Jun 4th 2008 7:01PM
I don't have an issue with the privacy part of it. For one thing when you're out in public you forfeit your privacy, and for another it's not like it's going to come back to bite you. There's plenty of situations like this, where data is supplied to studies from medical records or whatever without the subject's consent but they get around it by stripping any identifiable info such as biometrics. So you could be being analyzed as we speak without even knowing it.
But I'm thinking, just because your billboard turns heads, doesn't necessarily mean that's a good thing, nor that people will remember your product. For example, there's plenty of commercials on TV that grab my attention but I'll be damned if I got any product info from it... if I even noticed what they were trying to sell in the first place. But also some billboards grab attention for the wrong reasons.
BYOPC @ Jun 4th 2008 2:43PM
does anyone besides me think that will make people purposely not look at them?
Michael @ Jun 4th 2008 2:44PM
The beginning of the end... Big Brother, I welcome you with open arms.
jesse @ Jun 4th 2008 2:45PM
Right out of "Minority Report"
quandmeme @ Jun 4th 2008 4:08PM
I clicked the link just to see which frame from the movie they'd use as the lead pic.
IT-Accountant @ Jun 4th 2008 2:48PM
Just wait until your gf/wife/etc. gets that 10 second close-up video of your face from the Victoria's Secret billboard.
Flashpoint @ Jun 4th 2008 2:48PM
LOL @ RACIAL DATA.
"this just in...new billboards with facial detection technology have produced reports indicating that while Whites were more likely to glance at billboards where illegal immigration was the theme, Hispanics were more likely to glance at billboards where the theme was expensve designer sunglasses"
JJV @ Jun 4th 2008 3:26PM
how is that even remotely funny?
Smudgy @ Jun 4th 2008 4:10PM
I laughed, so either you have no sense of humour or I'm one twisted fellow. Either way...I honestly half expected to see a post along the lines of: "Queue Big Brother conspiracy fear mongering...3...2...1...now!"
Prokanda @ Jun 4th 2008 3:41PM
because it is.
I'm going to guess that you're from a minority group?
on another note........
....it's only a matter of time until SkyNet™ will be ready.
JJV @ Jun 4th 2008 4:00PM
i'm not from a minority group. Its just that, that didnt seem to be an acceptable comment for people of supposed maturity.
Lars @ Jun 4th 2008 7:13PM
People actually do studies of this sort quite often. I've been involved in a few regarding African Americans.
Ian @ Jun 4th 2008 2:51PM
scary shit, once they get retina scanners going... well then minority report will be a reality
PGP-Protector @ Jun 4th 2008 2:52PM
I wonder how long tell these billboards are hacked.
Neeko @ Jun 4th 2008 2:53PM
DAMN this sounds really bad.
So if you a black male you see billboards for NIKE and ECHO,G-unit clothes.
Yeah ill be pissed if i see a white male walk by a billboard and he gets a lexus ad while i get a KFC ad.
I see a class action lawsuit in the works.
kuade @ Jun 4th 2008 2:59PM
Yeah, when your face is recorded in a cental database and the "add" knows your credit score and bank balance, then it puts up an product that reflects your "status". Would that be better? Can we say loss of privacy regardless of race?
Boarderwoot @ Jun 4th 2008 3:04PM
this is already done in plenty of other forms such as on social networking websites and gmail when they use software to analyze the content of the site and display ads specific to that content...i don't see anyone suing or complaining about them. ALL marketing is based on race/class/gender, so stop complaining and eat your KFC while I go for a ride in my lexus to the Armani store.
kuade @ Jun 4th 2008 3:19PM
don't let them provoke you neeko, I have a feeling boarderwoot drives an '89 Honda Civic and shops at the Target.
Prokanda @ Jun 4th 2008 3:44PM
I think his comment was meant to be sarcastic... maybe he was responding to the slightly comedic tone of neeko's post....
....maybe I'm just delusional.
Mark L. @ Jun 4th 2008 4:04PM
Americans today are so prudish. It's an ad, it did not steal or kill.
Twitchy @ Jun 4th 2008 5:17PM
"Yeah ill be pissed if i see a white male walk by a billboard and he gets a lexus ad while i get a KFC ad."
I'd actually be pissed if I missed out on a special on a family bucket just because I don't belong to the 'demographic'.
Andad @ Jun 4th 2008 5:43PM
Am I the only one confused as to why fried chicken is a black stereotype? Find me a human that doesn't enjoy fried chicken and I'll find not a human at all.
Wwhat @ Jun 11th 2008 8:42AM
Only in america would they think of and dare to classify on race, no offence meant (much), but really.
TomWBrowning @ Jun 4th 2008 3:00PM
What's the betting they get lots of pictures of folks cringing or rolling their eyes at a poster for a show as bad as Andromeda Strain? Eh? Who's with me?
I'm here all week.
Ian @ Jun 4th 2008 7:46PM
hey i actually liked that, so yea. take that.
boomstik @ Jun 4th 2008 3:03PM
1) figure out the location of the camera
2) apply a thick layer of spray paint/epoxy/abrasion
3) relax... until they come up with something else.
Mark L. @ Jun 4th 2008 4:08PM
Yay! for defacing private property!
/sarcasm
Colin @ Jun 4th 2008 3:04PM
What happened to the good ole days when you could HIDE from advertisements for at least 30 seconds?
Neeko @ Jun 4th 2008 3:04PM
This system is a horrible idea. You cant assume anything about a person based on RACE. I WOULD BE INSULTED AND EMBARRASSED with whatever the billboard assumes i would purchase just based on the color of my skin,
Not even going to mention GENDER assumptions it would make.
Joe @ Jun 4th 2008 3:10PM
Do yourself a favor and calm down. Then, go watch TV - watch some shows you like. Look at what ads are put in there. Now go watch a show that you aren't interested in at all. You'll see that companies advertise to whatever demographic they get the best responses to, and demographics are based on factors including age, gender, and race.
Or if you'd prefer, get outraged and complain on the internet.
Neeko @ Jun 4th 2008 3:14PM
@Boarderwoot
Its one thing to have ads geared to you on the grounds of what your personal shopping habits are. thats fine if i shop at GAP 24/7 then companies can safely assume that im into fashion and gear ads to that.
But imagine walking down a street in the future and seeing a wall of billboards all showing coke,NIKE,G-UNIT ads based only on the assumption's that all black people buy these products. ( its almost comical imagining a person running down the street away from these ads)
Its bad enough when you walk into these areas and you see these ads all over the place.being pushed onto everyone. but to be personally picked out is worse.
Or maybe i am just over reacting. lol
John B. @ Jun 4th 2008 3:33PM
Hate to burst your bubble but I think you've got the wrong idea. These ads don't look at your face and then change to reflect your demographic. All they do is record some information about you (gender, age, and yes, race) and record it to a database, which is then sent back to the advertising company so they can get a better hold on what ads to put out there.
This is already done all around the country in non-digital form. For instance, if a company is aiming for an African American demographic, they'll pay a few hundred african americans to come in and talk to them about what they like to buy and watch on TV. Then the advertising company forms their ads around that. They're called focus groups and they are extremely common.
The only thing these billboards will do is speed up the process. If an advertising company puts out an ad for a television show and sees that 3 white people and 200 black people looked at it over the course of a day, they will know what kind demographic they're dealing with.
Munkcy @ Jun 4th 2008 3:33PM
I think Neeko brings up a valid point.
If ads advance to the point of being able to just quick scan your face and instantly know your gender, race and age, and then display ads accordingly, is it racist if anytime a black man walks past them they display an ad for KFC? Or a woman walks past and gets an ad for 'Sex in the City.'
Or just wait for the day when they quick scan you and can pick up medical conditions too. I can already picture the middle aged man trying to explain that he just 'took Viagra as a joke.'
gigerkatt @ Jun 4th 2008 3:17PM
I look at billboards i dont give a shit about all the time
BYOPC @ Jun 4th 2008 5:24PM
so true
kuade @ Jun 4th 2008 3:21PM
The Human race is far from perfect, no amount of suing will stop racism and stereotypes. Just treat others how you wish to be treated, that is the best you can do to make the world a better place.
Matt @ Jun 4th 2008 3:28PM
You need a REASON to break out the Nixon mask?
Smudgy @ Jun 4th 2008 4:16PM
No, but I do need a reason to take it off...I put it on I end up not only looking like Nixon but sweating like him too. :/
bjsguess @ Jun 4th 2008 3:29PM
People need to chill out. To think this is anything new is naive.
Watch commercials from Oxygen, A&E, BET, and ESPN. You will see a huge diversity of advertisements based off the perceived viewing audience. Advertisers study closely the demographics of certain shows/channels and then pay to be inserted into their target audience. This is all basic marketing.
If you watch Oxygen you will get a lot of woman products. If you watch ESPN you will be bombarded with Gatorade and shoe ads.
Whether it's a billboard with recognition software or Nielsen ratings on TV you are already classified by your age, race, income level, sexual orientation and lifestyle. Are their mistakes made by stereotyping - sure. But that doesn't violate your rights or anything remotely similar to that.
If you are black and you get KFC commercials it's because KFC has told the billboard that you are their target audience. It has nothing to do with whether you actually enjoy KFC or not. It's only their research that has suggested you might be a good advertisement target. Same goes for someone who is Asian getting Lexus ads. Lexus has decided that Asians (in this example) are their target audience.
steve @ Jun 4th 2008 3:33PM
So, if you look Middle eastern, do you get Al Qaeda recruitment ads?
andrew @ Jun 4th 2008 3:33PM
I think the article title is incorrect. Doesn't "facial recognition" refer to identifying a person (name, address, etc.) by his/her face, while the article is referring to "face recognition," which merely recognizes that a face is turned towards the camera?
It's interesting that billboards are beginning to blur the difference - also recognizes certain characteristics about the face - but we're still a little way from having commercially available mass facial recognition software (and hardware for that matter). Only the CIA can do that stuff. For now, at least.
coffee @ Jun 4th 2008 3:34PM
lots of paranoia in here.
racial, age, and gender profiling is done constantly by advertising companies, whether in focus groups or observational. This is a way of automating the observation by recording those that look at certain billboards, how long they look, etc. Seems everyone gets their panties bunched when the word "race" is involved, even though that's one of the major factors in advertising now.
Advertising companies depend on demographic data to function - so they can push products at the right groups when companies employ them. Not so they can figure out who you are and display your personal data for all to see.
And I'm sure someone will let me know how naive I am and that evil corporations will record all my long, lingering looks at the Carl's Jr. and Victoria's Secret billboards. Oh well.
I welcome targeted advertisement, I'm tired of tampon commercials and Hannah Montana gear.
But I'm just a white 30-40 year old tech spender with a wife that likes ridiculously expensive face cream and shoes, so what do I know.
//please please please send me cool tech commercials
generally @ Jun 4th 2008 3:41PM
They learned that mostly males looked at an ad for The Andromeda Strain, but most of them looked because they thought Master Chief had joined the maternity ward.
Ben @ Jun 4th 2008 3:43PM
hmmm time to invest in burkhas
ThreeDee912 @ Jun 4th 2008 3:50PM
Big media is watching you...
Timbuckto @ Jun 4th 2008 3:57PM
Seriously... you need a reason to bust out the Nixon mask. That's like saying you would be embarrassed to order food from McDonalds through an Optimus Prime or [Lord] Darth Vader mask.
I wonder how many Nixons it will take to get to the center of a "New" Watergate... targeted add?