This ad for Amnesty International called Eye Tracking was recently installed on a bus stop in Hamburg, Germany – featuring a built-in camera and eye-tracking technology. When no-one is looking, the ad displays an image depicting a case of domestic violence. Once the camera detects an onlooker, it switches (after a delay), showing the same couple looking rather happy and normal.

The ad picked up the Cannes Lions 2009 Outdoor Silver Award and seems to make use of technology similar to that built into many digital cameras for blink and smile detection.

This is a brilliant use of technology that dramatically intensifies the ad’s already powerful message. I hope we see more interactive ads like this in the future.

Sources:
Coloribus and Copyranter
Via: DVICE

Fierce advertising rivalry with stylish competitor Apple, really seems to have gotten Microsoft thinking outside the box. Though they have made some grave errors in attempting to make their Windows Vista OS appear cool and fun, this ad for their New Zealand audience actually seems to hit the mark.

Created by NZ ad agency Y&R, the images imply that Vista will make your home a theme park of entertainment. Pretty clever. Or to quote The Mighty Boosh – “Bouncy, Bouncy. Oooh such a good time.”

Source:
The Cool Hunter

After the announcement from Microsoft declaring the Gates/Seinfeld ads dead, the Redmond giant has moved to “Phase Two” with the launch of three new commercials (below). The ads feature a repetitive, ambiguous slogan which is quite infectious, but sure to grow old very quickly.

The “I’m a PC” repetitiveness is curious as it is not operating system specific, and the ads feature people that would more likely be Linux PC users. The graffiti artist and the musicians fighting corporate control, the data center employees requiring a stable OS and the kids from poorer regions using computers from the One Laptop Per Child program.

Does Microsoft not consider Linux to be a threat? I’d like to see someone replace the closing Vista splash-screens with a Linux logo and upload them to YouTube. Any takers? I’d totally post them here.

The star of the videos, Sean Siler, can be contacted through his on-screen email address which has an auto-responder set up. You can try emailing him at sean@windows.com, or read below for the auto-response.

Hello! I’m a PC – and I can’t answer your email right now. I’d like to say that I’m out climbing Mt. Rainier or biking across Europe with the Swedish Beach Volleyball Team, but in fact I’m probably just chained to a desk somewhere in the depths of Redmond pounding out product specifications.

Now that I have been in a commercial, Microsoft has given me access to super-secret “BillyG” level of executive resources. That’s right – I have my own email auto-responder!

This, as you have probably surmised, is my pre-prepared auto-response (All natural, no filler. No animals were harmed in the making of this response. Except for a ferret.) I really would like to have answered you myself, but if I did, (a) I’d probably get no work done, and (b) then I’d get fired, and (c) then I’d have no chance of doing any more of those really awesome commercials.

So let me try to prognosticate a few of your questions and answer a few of them.

Why did they put you on TV?
I think it’s my devastating good-looks and animal magnetism. No, really – there’s a ferret stuck to my leg right now.

But really – you aren’t even an actor!
No I’m not. But I play one on TV. I really am a Microsoft Program Manager. I work on IPv6, and other things that you haven’t heard of.

How did you get selected?
I auditioned along with a couple of hundred others. I guess I looked very Engineery. And the ferret probably helped.

Are you interested in more acting?
Oh no, I think that Engineering is MUCH more fun.

What’s with Windows Vista?
You’ve been watching those commercials again, haven’t you? Windows Vista rocks. Listen to real users, not actors.

-The Real PC, Sean Siler

Sources:
Video 1, Video 2 and Video 3.
Via: TechCrunch

Were you looking forward to your Friday fix of the next installment of the Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld commercials? Well, I’m afraid it’s all over. Microsoft is set to make an announcement tomorrow that they will be ending the Gates/Seinfeld ads and moving towards “phase two” of their ad campaign.

The company seems to recognize the commercials were a flop and did not connect with their target audience, only serving as a reminder of how out of touch the company really is with their customers.

I find it rather disappointing not knowing where they were going to take the series. The first commercial was terrible, but with the second ad, they really did seem as if they were getting somewhere. I wonder if the rest of the series was recorded and if someone might be kind enough to leak it onto YouTube for all us curious techies.

No word on what Phase Two will be, just that it won’t include Seinfeld.

Sources:
Valleywag via SlipperyBrick

A few hours ago the first installment of the new Bill Gates and Jerry Seinfeld commercials went to air in the States and, well, it has to be seen to be believed (video below). The strained $10 million Seinfeld performance coupled with consistent deadpan delivery by Gates is awkward and confusing, yet somewhat addictive. It may be a case of “it’s so bad, it’s good”.

The ads are part of a $300 million promotional effort to change the poor public perceptions of Windows Vista. It is a subtle campaign, not a product push – notice there is no mention of Vista in the video? The tag-line for the campaign is “Windows, Not Walls,” which is bound to get a chuckle out of open-sourcers.

Share your opinion by leaving your comment below, or alternatively, check out the heavy commenting going on over at Engadget and Gizmodo if you want to check out how other people feel about it (beware of intense PC/Mac fanboy rivalry). Some people actually like it! Crazy kids.

Sources:
YouTube via GadgetLab