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A Video Ad, In a Paper Magazine

Posted by timothy on from the who'dathunkit dept.

lee1 writes "The first-ever video advertisement will be published in a traditional paper magazine — Entertainment Weekly — in September. The video will be displayed on slim-line screens around the size of a mobile phone display and will have rechargeable batteries. The associated chip can hold up to 40 minutes of video, and uses technology similar to that used in singing greeting cards, playing the movie when the page is turned. The first clips will preview CBS shows and advertise Pepsi, but they will only be distributed in Los Angeles and New York. Imagine the fun hacking possibilities."

14 of 295 comments (clear)

  1. Rechargeable batteries? by bytethese · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wait, so they expect user to recharge the screen so that they can watch ads? Doesn't seem too effective and easy to pass over...

  2. Cost? by El_Muerte_TDS · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Isn't this insanely expensive? I thought the return on ads was already very low. How is this going to be any better.

    1. Re:Cost? by suomynonAyletamitlU · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Oh America, how I love thee, let me count the ways.

      You produce thousands or millions of throwaway video displays, speakers, and batteries for no other purpose but so that a percentage of people who come across them will buy some unrelated product;

      Food is plentiful enough that most need not worry, and many have grown fat and complacent;

      And somehow you can't take that money, that labor, and that food and give it to people who need it the world over.

    2. Re:Cost? by WNight · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I'm waiting for the lawsuits against people who resell these, hack them, etc.

      When one of these ends up on a lamp-post in Brooklyn with a timer on it who will the department of homeland security waterboard? Putting electronics in the hands of terrorists is a serious charge.

      Totally baseless of course because bombs don't need fancy timers and a cheap ipod device, like many manufacturers make for almost nothing, could do the same if you wanted a timer, but hey, when has law been about reason?

      I've got popcorn.

  3. So what toxic materials are in it by rminsk · · Score: 5, Interesting

    What toxic materials are in this screen? Most of the magazines will end up in a landfill instead of being recycled by a proper electronics recycler.

  4. Article Light on Details by Silentknyght · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Seems great, but TFA seems light on details that would seem to come to most peoples' minds:

    • Is it actually an insert into the magazine, or is it part of a page, itself?
    • How durable is it? And its corollary:
    • How flexible is it?
    • Is it always on, or can you turn it off?
    • Wait, the battery is rechargeable? If this is an ADVERTISEMENT in a paper magazine, why would you want to recharge it beyond the novelty? What good is this, and with a battery of 70min, wouldn't they ALL have no power by the time you get it off the shelf?
    • Can I rip it out of the magazine and keep the screen/device and repurpose them for something actually useful?

    FYI, here's what it does list:

    • Screen uses liquid crystal display (LCD) technology
    • Each is 2.7mm thick with 320x240 resolution Can store 40mins of video
    • Battery can be recharged via mini-USB
    • Rechargeable battery lasts up to 70 mins
    • Developed by LA-firm Americhip
  5. Re:fun hacking? Er..no. Imagine the annoyance... by Hurricane78 · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Wait for Goatse to appear on those ads!

    I'm stunned it didn't already happened on one of those screens at Times Square in New York. But I'll get right to it. Just a sec... ;)

    --
    Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
  6. Any interesting Esquire e-ink hacks by EsJay · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Esquire had an E-ink cover last year. Was there any interesting re-purposing?

    Google tells me it was possible but I didn't find any interesting projects.

  7. How long until ... by Jumperalex · · Score: 2, Interesting

    [queue article about malware distributing video magazine ad in 3...2...1...]

    --
    If you can't be good, be good at it!
  8. Entertainment Weekly by Sloppy · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I hate these asshole spammers. I started getting their crap about a year ago. Every damn week, one of these things. I rent a mailbox and only check it about once a month. Now it physically fills up with their unsolicited junk mail. Fuck you, Entertainment Weekly.

    I tracked down how it happened. Turns out Ticketmaster sold me out -- they're who Entertainment Weekly got my snailmail address from (and email address, that's how I caught 'em -- Entertainment Weekly sent spam to tm@example.com). So: fuck you too, Ticketmaster. You'll never hear from me again.

    --
    As copyright owner of this comment, I authorize everyone to defeat any technological measure which limits access to it.
  9. Re:Youtube video of the product... by Archangel+Michael · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Okay, the Geek in me wants to take the YouTube Video of this thing, and put it ON this thing, make a video Youtube of the new video on the thing, and then video that and put it on it and then get a video of that, and put it on it ....

    --
    Agent K: A *person* is smart. People are dumb, stupid, panicky animals, and you know it.
  10. Oh good - sound in a novelty item... by musefrog · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I sense that, if this catches on, you'll get a similar problem to cards and other novelty items which make sounds - malfunctions which cause them to NEVER - SHUT - UP! I had this very experience at a birthday party I was at recently. The novelty candle thingie was cool at first, but no-one could get it to stop playing its cheesy tinny music. It got shut in another room, but we could still hear it... not sure what terrible fate finally silenced it...

  11. The great thing about this.. by SlashDev · · Score: 3, Interesting

    .. is that I can turn the page. Can't do that with video ads on 'live' TV.

    --

    TOP DSLR Cameras Reviews of the top DSLRs
  12. Sell content as? You mean re-license Reuters? by Ilgaz · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Man I am sure a Perl or even more advanced Haskell etc. genious can code today's mainstream newspaper generator easily. Just add couple of leftist/rightist/shadowy columnists who writes no better than your IRC bot, all you need is a A3 printer to go.

    I really think it should be done, just to show how worthless they have become internationally, yes, ALL newspapers except always lower selling intellectual types can be generated dynamically. You can even add some sort of "evil layout AI" to promote/demote stories based on your agenda. All you need is to show it to a boss like Murdoch. "Here Mr. Murdoch, my little program can do what 10000 people you employ does."

    All they do is copy/paste Reuters etc. stories, add a bit of own insert/edit and post it to Indesign or Quark. Nothing else. Look to NY Times archives of 1950s, 1960s... They sent real people to go after real stories and investigate ground breaking stories just by telephone and knowing the right people.

    IT media is going in same direction too... You can easily predict which stories with what kind of taste would appear on IT media. In 5 years they will start whining too.