SEX AND ADVERTISING
As the concept of 3 Dimensional (3D) becomes ever so popular, ads in the future could be 3D ones. The rise of 3D is evident with 3D movies, 3D televisions and 3D printing. This could change the whole market of ads, in turn sexual ads. Sexual advertisements would become more provocative as the sexual acts become more ‘real’. Sexual advertisements would be taken to a whole new level, bringing the effects of sexual ads to a new height. The ads could be more persuasive with its effects multiplied. Advertisers would be intrigued to immerse people with 3D sexual ads. In turn, with an unmatched experience consumers might demand for more sexual ads, giving their attention only to these particular ads. Hence, a new market of 3D sex-ads is formed.
3D SEX ADS
Augmented reality is rising and we could see advertisements tapping on this technology. Traditional advertisement show how a certain product can bring certain benefits or even reflect certain status. However, consumers would have to leave it up to their imagination to see if a product would be worth buying. This would mean that they would have to eventually travel down to the store to try.
Instead companies could incorporate augmented reality into their advertisements showing consumers how their products would look on the consumer.
AUGMENTED REALITY
As technology improve and cost of hardware decreases, we can expect facial recognition to be applied on advertisements. This would result in more custom advertisement and customers seeing more advertisements that appeal to them. This technology could help digital billboards recognise male and female customers. This would result in customers seeing less of advertisements that do not relate to them at all. For example, a male would never be interested in advertisements for lingerie. (Unless that was the intended purpose: to get husbands to buy lingerie as gifts for their wives)
This would ultimately mean that firm can save on costs as they get more value for each advertisement. Current advertisements are generic in the sense that companies pay a media agency to advertise on billboards or other media without maximising their value as it targets more than just their intended audience.
For example, if televisions are equipped with such technology, it could result in advertisements that are directed at males, females, or even families and would therefore be more effective and cost efficient.
FACIAL RECOGNITION
Since the main aim of aforementioned future technologies is to reduce the gap between the real and the visual world, hence these technologies will undoubtedly entice the desires of the consumers and simultaneously make them more aware of what they really need. For instance, for technologies such as facial recognition and mobile apps, the advertising companies will be aware of the viewers likes and dislikes, for example I am the viewer and specifically prefer blonde women then the advertising company will be sure to advertise their product with blonde women, to better grab my attention and also increase the chances of me buying the product.
Secondly, these technologies may even have a benefit of fewer spillovers of advertisements as advertisements would be more specific and will be only the targeted to the viewer through facial recognition and mobile applications. For example, if two people of different age groups are walking, the ads will be able to recognize that through facial recognition and will adjust the ads accordingly.
Thirdly, these advertisements will become more effective as it transcends the barriers between real and virtual, thereby making the ads seem more real. This also follows the imitative desire theory that takes into account the fact that advertisements are not one-way communications but an understanding between the viewer and the advertisement.
Traditional advertising only allows advertisements to be placed on billboards to target a general group of consumers. Technology is evolving and will eventually allow us to more accurately determining the location of potential consumers as well as their consumption to provide effective advertising. By relying on mobile towers and Wi-Fi signals, new software will be able to collect signal footprints. This would allow future ads to target specific consumers at specific areas for specific goods.
This could pave way for the future that allows advertisements to target consumers who have a preference for certain goods based on their mobile usage. Furthermore, advertisements of companies could be shown to consumer who exhibit interest in the product and are within the area. This could lead to really specific advertisements and a more focused approach.
LOCATION BASED MOBILE
IMPLICATIONS OF FUTURE TECHNOLOGY
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
These technologies, as we already know, will reduce the gap between real and virtual by making advertisements more “life-like”. This may entice the viewer to such extremes, and that they cannot fulfill their desires, will lead to negative impacts on society such molestations, rapes and other crimes against society.
This can lead to severe loss in privacy since the companies will be thoroughly acquainted with every viewers and potential customers personal information, through technologies like facial recognition and mobile apps since they cater to specific individuals.