Think you're hearing voices? It may be a new cable promotion

I regularly listen to a podcast called The Business which comes out of KCRW in Santa Monica. It talks about goings on in the business of Hollywood. This week the show gave a very brief mention of a promotional campaign going on in the Soho district of NYC.

Imagine this...you are walking down the sidewalk in Soho and all of a sudden hear someone audibly say "Who's there? Who's there!?!" You look around because you are sure someone's asking YOU that question. But all you see are other hectic Sohoians (?) walking to their destinations. Except, now they are wondering why you are spinning around looking for someone that's talking to you. But there isn't anyone. It's a BILLBOARD for the new A&E show callled Paranormal State--and it's talking only to you!

The board uses the same technology developed for personalized audio tours in museums to speak to isolate single people walking by and send an isolated audio signal to you. Read about this campaign here in an Ad Age article. Or, for a slightly less institutionalized take, here's a blog about it on Gawker.

This also just reminded me of another story I heard on a favorite podcast, On the Media.
It's about a billboard that doesn't narrowcast to just one passerby...but broadcasts it's thoughts about MANY passersby on the streets of Las Vegas. This is a promotional gimmick for an outdoor advertising company. Listen to this story here: