Email spam.
Escalator steps with logos.
Parking lot strip sponsorship.
Paying you to change your legal to name to "Pizza Hut".
Sometimes I'm convinced marketers won't stop until every inch of the earth is covered by logos like a NASCAR stock car. The next new frontier? Your cerebellum.
Marketers are now stuffing consumers into MRI machines to see if their frontal lobe lights up when they watch that new Verizon ad (if it were me, it would be the lobe that makes me feel pissed and woozy). Marketers are also experimenting with hypersonic sound projectors so you think someone is whispering "They’re following you" in your ear as you stand in front of the spy section at Borders. Researchers can even emit frequency waves that make you feel a strong sense of euphoria or empathy.
So, do we have the right to mental privacy? As writers for Wired and Fast Company point out, mental privacy may be the next big human rights battle. The government has already established that it has rights to our memories, just ask anyone who's been subpoenaed.
How about this tip. Instead of using Jedi mind tricks to get people to buy, why don't we just do as Seth Godin says and make remarkable products that sell and advertise themselves? Seems simple, although an empathy ray will come in handy when I tell my wife I need an iPhone.
