Interactive ad uses facial recognition
A new interactive ad by Plan UK placed at a bus stop on Oxford Street (pictured above) will use facial recognition technology to tell apart men and women.
The next step in interactive advertising is here.
In a move reminiscent of the movie Minority Report, a new ad campaign by women’s charity Plan UK in the United Kingdom aims to personalize ads based on gender, in an effort to show men how it feels to have choice taken away from them, reported the BBC.
The advertisement at a London bus stop on Oxford Street will use a camera to detect facial features and determine the gender of the viewer. BBC reported that the camera guesses accurately 90 percent of the time. The point of the facial recognition is to only show women the ad, while men are directed to the charity’s website.
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A press release about the ad on the Plan UK website said, “Men and boys are denied the choice to view the full content in order to highlight the fact that women and girls across the world are denied choices and opportunities on a daily basis due to poverty and discrimination,” but noted that men also play a vital role in helping women and the campaign.
The Atlantic noted that, “The ad's interface uses the same kind of facial recognition technology employed by Facebook to identify users in photos, by artists to imagine literary characters' appearances, and, yes, by marketers to create personalized ads.”
The interactive ad cost approximately $47,385 and will be available for two weeks, said the BBC.
The ad in question can be viewed on the Plan UK YouTube channel.
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