Mirror advertising in O'Hare Airport
I recently went through an article discussing the installation of mirror ads in the public bathrooms of Chicago’s O’Hare Airport:
“The ads take up most of the mirror, then shrink to a corner when a person approaches. Advertisers can track effectiveness by how often, and for how long, ads are viewed”
This technological prowess is the latest addition in the world of advertising: it can display either still images or videos – and is smart enough to track how many people stand in front of the mirror and for how long via a sensor.
But did we have to go there?
I’ve always considered the bathroom as one of the last sanctuaries of privacy in this modern world: granted, it is a frowned-upon location because of the infamous activities and olfactive special effects associated with it… But advertising companies are telling us via this advanced technology that “your business is our business” (if you know what I mean). And besides, advertising is already there in the bathroom with the multiple brands of products staring at us, reminding us of our acute addiction to capitalism and mass consumerism (deeeep…)
Imagine a day with such technology invading elevators, building halls, fitting rooms…
I hope not to see the day.
In the meantime, enjoy the below alternate forms of bathroom advertising (including what, I have to admit, is an awesome Polaroid initiative in Brazil – where mirrors have actually been replaced with cameras to promote the instant photo!)
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
What do you think? Are we ready for full-fledge bathroom advertising in Lebanon?
Dar El Akhdar
I was talking to a friend in Dubai about this. You know the skin whitening cream “fair and lovely?” Well in bathrooms across malls in Dubai, they put a film on top of mirrors that would make people appear a shade lighter when they looked into the mirror, and then have a fair and lovely logo on the corner of the mirror telling them to buy the cream if they really wanted to look that way… CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? How insulting! No space is to private it seems… I’m going to see if I can find the link for you.
Posted by This is Beirut | February 2, 2011, 5:24 PM