For better or worse, targeted advertising isn't going anywhere. Seemingly, it's not getting any more discrete, either. NEC's Digital Signage Solution combines a camera, a large display and a FeliCa contactless IC card reader / writer in order to dole out advertisements that cater to certain demographics. The system includes the innate ability to determine "gender, generation and other attributes" of a person in order to serve up advertisements that will cause him / her to spend some dough. From there, the individual can scan their phone in order to access related content on their mobile internet browser. That's all and fine and dandy we suppose, but how on Earth do you convince busy citizens to stop by and have a look at an otherwise uninteresting flat-panel?

[Image courtesy of NEC]

Not that London isn't the unofficial home to weird ads or anything, but this one is just taking things way too far. Reportedly, deodorant manufacturer Right Guard has created an armpit-based method of advertising which has cleverly been dubbed "pitvertising." We've no idea if the trial will turn into anything permanent, but unless garb with these displays are given away for free, we can't imagine too many self-respecting Londoners becoming walking stare magnets just because.

[Via textually]

Remember that not-entirely-innocent looking prehistoric creature that won your heart immediately upon viewing Samsung's optical illusion promotional vid? Apparently quite a few folks demanded to see more of the Soul dinosaur, so Sammy hoisted him up onto a truck and proceeded to drive around a few English towns. Catch the sub-2 minute journey (reactions included) just after the break.

[Thanks, Claudio]

Let's face it: a photograph is only worth a thousand words, but a video... well, it's almost always preferred. For those still hungry for (even) more details on Voodoo's latest duo, the HP VoodooPC channel is now home to a host of fresh clips to satisfy your insatiable appetite. The goods are in the read link, kiddos.

[Thanks, William]

We'll be frank -- we really have no idea what Samsung's getting at with its freshest Soul promotional video, but it's certainly a fine piece of eye candy if nothing else. Put simply, the video shows a maniac darting about demonstrating ten optical illusions in just over two minutes, and in case you couldn't guess, the Soul is saved for last. Should we have prefaced that bit with a spoiler warning? Too bad -- vid's still waiting after the jump if you're interested, though.

[Thanks, Joel]

Just in case you haven't learned enough about the forthcoming Samsung Instinct from our hands-on gallery / UI video walkthrough, Sammy has launched a promotional website designed to give you the skinny. Within the site, you can peer at a handful of press shots, get schooled on all of its features and sign up to be notified when it's ready for your hands to be wrapped around it. Nothing too exciting, but those with the Instinct high on their list of next mobile to own will surely find it worth the click over.

Some of you keen readers pieced all this together already, but that commercial you've been seeing about an "all new television series" dubbed Scarlet isn't a new show at all; rather, it's a risky move by LG to push its Scarlet LCD HDTVs. The sets themselves have been out and about already, and while the specifications aren't anything to sneeze at, the displays aren't nearly as seductive as the 30 second spot. The idea was crafted and put into motion by LG global brand marketing VP Kwan-Sup Lee and a team of advertising / marketing agencies, and while it refused to disclose exactly how much it has spent on the endeavor, it did affirm that it was "millions more than a typical product launch in the US." Sure, we can appreciate the envelope pushing, but now that we're all psyched about the show, it's a bit of a letdown to know we'll never actually be able to tune in. Check out the ad in its entirety after the jump.

Nothing shows your complete and unwavering devotion to a handset maker like buying an ultra-rare vehicle with its logos on there, wouldn't you agree? Those vigorously nodding up and down (well, those vigorously nodding up and down in Brazil) can get set to grab a limited edition Renault Sandero, which will come "fully equipped with Nokia's navigation system and [undisclosed] car add-ons." The super-special Sandero will come stocked with an N95 and cost around €17,650 ($27,693), but you'd better hurry, as only 1,000 of these niche motorcars are being built. It's like Nokia heard your cries for letting the chance to nab one of those co-branded Twingos slip through your too-busy-texting thumbs or something.

Marketing its wares straight to consumers is old hat for HTC in the Old World, but stateside? Not so much. That's not to say the HTC name is a total unknown in North America; there's been the odd Advantage here and Shift there, but by and large, we yanks know the Taiwanese firm better for its relatively anonymous efforts in the likes of the AT&T Tilt, Verizon XV6900, Sprint Touch, and countless other carrier-branded devices. That's about to change, though, with a full-court press of TV, print, outdoor, and online advertising targeted squarely at the US market launching this week. The company's first ad in the campaign is posted to YouTube -- no new products here, sadly, but it's an encouraging sign to see that one of the world's most prolific ODMs and smartphone manufacturers now thinks that the American market is mature enough to be dealt with directly. The announcement of the US-spec Touch Dual was a good start, and now, we look forward to seeing a whole heck of a lot more where that came from. Check the first commercial after the break.

Okay, so there's a fair amount of folks out there still wondering what exactly a MID (Mobile Internet Device) can do for them, and while some may scrutinize the facts and still come away in a haze, Intel has unleashed a new 84 second spot hyping the platform's ability to keep you connected in nearly any locale. The plug trumpets the "great battery life" you're just guaranteed to get as well as the ability to connect via WiFi or WiMAX. Beyond accessing the web, you'll also find promotions for multimedia playback and "catching up on your work" -- the latter of which we're thoroughly skeptical about. Still, you're likely to get a hearty chuckle out of it if nothing else, so click on past the break to get schooled.

[Via UberReview]

[Via Textually]

Perhaps they lacked a crackshot marketing team, the URL they wanted was camped by someone unreasonable, or -- sadly -- they just thought it was a good idea at the time. For whatever reason, these products and companies actually made it to fruition for our sheer enjoyment.



More Best of the Worst

• CES 2008 Adwatch: Best of the worst
  
• CES 2008 booth gimmickery: Best of the worst
• CES 2008 Crapgadget
• CES 2008: Fugliest headphones awards
• The fugliest laptop you'll see all day

From the weird to the shameless, from the unintentionally funny to the downright questionable, we've rounded up some of the best of the worst ad campaigns seen around the show floor at CES 2008.



More Best of the Worst

• CES 2008 booth gimmickery: Best of the worst
• CES 2008 product names: Best of the worst
• CES 2008 Crapgadget
• The fugliest laptop you'll see all day
• CES 2008: Fugliest headphones awards

Mind you, we've seen no shortage of crazy antics to grab attendee attention out on the show floor (P.T. Barnum would be very, very proud), but this year's award for randomest booth gimmick goes to wall mounting solutions company Vantage Point, who (rather successfully) drew their flock via this oxygen bar in their booth. We did overhear them get a lot of product inquiries out of the deal... about where to buy an oxygen bar (but we're sure the mental road to wall mounting curiosity is super short).

Don't you dare criticize TiVo's ad collecting / disseminating department for slacking off, as just months after it launched StopWatch to offer up second-by-second viewing data, the company is planning to also hand over demographic information about its customers. The move is certainly likely to shift TiVo into Big Brother's list of most highly-regarded outfits, as the information that will soon be shared with advertisers (we're hearing it may be opt-in only, however) includes "age, income, marital status and ethnicity." There's no telling how much coinage TiVo will be raking in for such detailed data, but at least willing users can now watch intently knowing full well that they're letting it all (and we mean all) hang out.

Update: Turns out this is indeed an opt-in program. Thanks, Jake!

[Via Reuters]