Just before kick-off at a recent American football league game at the Ford Stadium in Detroit, fans watched in amazement as three trucks burst through a doorway and raced across the pristine playing field dragging giant billboards. The game started moments later―the trucks hadn't disturbed a single blade of grass. In fact, no one in the stadium had seen a thing. Only viewers watching at home had seen them. The trucks are the latest of a new breed of TV advert that hits the "target", as advertisers affectionately call us, with eye-catching virtual images. Phantom vehicles are a far cry from the familiar 30-second ad break, but they're just one manifestation of a fightback being mounted by the advertising industry. Many of us rush off to make a cup of tea when the ads come on, and the latest technology is helping us become even more adept at avoiding ads. Even if we stay glued to the couch during the breaks, we channel-hop or use the latest video recorders to skip through the ads in the blink of an eye. So advertisers and TV networks are busy rethinking the medium. More and more of them are turning to interactive computer technology to help get their messages across. Some may even have begun to spy on you, gathering information about your lifestyle. Yet if virtual products that pop up when you least expect them don't make you part with your money, no matter. The most effective advertisements could turn out to be the ones you don't even know you're watching.
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