By Ben Mutzabaugh, USA TODAY
It may be harder to look yourself in the face the next time you use a bathroom sink at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport.
That comes as advertisers are installing new sensor-equipped ads that will target customers in the bathrooms of the nation's second-busiest airport.
In a move that The Daily Mail of London says crosses "perhaps the last frontier in advertising," digital commercials are being added to about 150 bathroom mirrors at the airport.
The 40-inch digital-display screens will be placed in mirrors above lavatory sinks, outfitted with the capability to show both video advertising as well as still images.
But the ads are unusually dynamic.
They remain full size when customers stand at a distance, but -- as the customer approaches the sink -- the ad will gradually shrink in size until it appears only in a corner of the mirror. (See images at Tnooz.com and The Daily Mail of London.)
That, of course, allows customers to continue to view the ad -- even as they (hopefully) wash their hands.
Travel technology website Tnooz.com says the ads -- developed by advertiser Clear Channel Airports in partnership with technology firm Mirrus -- will allow companies to create ads tailored to specific niches.
Mirrus tells Tnooz some of the installations will be so sophisticated that they'll "include a computer running a content management system to enable content scheduling."
Aside from the obvious ability to tailor gender-specific ads, that also allows advertisers to craft ads to run on certain days or around specific events.
"These displays create unique opportunities for marketers to deliver targeted messages that are highly impactful and relevant to consumers," Clear Channel Airports spokesman Toby Sturek tells the Daily Mail.
There's more. The Daily Mail adds that some "mirrors also include a robust sensor" that will allow advertisers to track not only the number of bathroom-visitors that look at an ad, but also for how long they view it."
So, be sure to wash your hands ... you never know who's keeping tabs.
Posted Mar 9 2011 9:06AM
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