Ads In Bathroom Mirrors

In a recent article I came across, Marketing Executives have been toying with multiple ideas for ways to portray new advertisements in public places.  For instance, some of the ideas were along the lines of security officers at airports wearing jumpsuit style advertisements like the NASCAR drivers do.  Another was the implementation of ads in security bins.  Out of all of these, the one that actually got passed into use is what is referred to as Mirror Ads.  Now, airport restrooms at O’Hare Airport will have mirrors that are actually digital advertisements behind them.  The ads only turn back into mirrors once the person approaches them.  This allows marketing teams to monitor the effectiveness of ads by keeping track of the amount of time the person is standing in front of it. 
I think that this is a boundary that should have not been crossed.  It’s bad enough that ads are distracting us everywhere along the road while we drive and should really pay attention, like a highway, but now to have them in the seclusion of a restroom is really ridiculous.  The fact that we cannot have our 3 minutes away from the media and advertising is not fair in my opinion.  Ads like this are being forced upon people to read, whereas ads that are placed in an open environment are more welcoming because it gives the reader the choice of looking at it or not.  If people feel that the ad is being forced in their faces, I feel that they would be less likely to react to it.  The bottom line is that mirrors need to stay mirrors, and advertisements need to stay advertisements.

Link:

http://www.cnn.com/2011/OPINION/03/06/greene.bathroom.advertising/index.html?iref=allsearch