Few years ago, we discussed how the term "Uncanny Valley" could be applied to targeted advertising. Of course, the general concept of the strange valley is generally considered in the field of robotics. This is the idea that people are comfortable with robots that seem to robots, but at a point where they become too similar to humans, but not really like humans, people feel uncomfortable . However, if a robot appears to be fully human, then people come back to be comfortable with them - to the point of identifying with them and sympathize with them. The problem is the region where they are "too human", but just different enough to ... feel "off" somehow makes it "weird." As we have noted the same thing was really a kind of truth for targeted advertising. As advertising becomes more "selective" seems to lead the people, because they feel as if they watched.

A perfect example of what you see in this piece the NYTimes magazine recently about the details of how the target mine information from your purchase to guess who is pregnant and when by. And it will not buy diapers or something like that:

The only problem is that customer identification pregnant is harder than it looks. Target has a record of the baby shower, and the Polo began there watching shopping habits change as a woman approached her due date, that women had voluntarily disclosed the matter. He ran test after test, analyze data, and quickly became some helpful tips. Lotions, for example. Many people buy the lotion, but a colleague of Polo realized that women in the baby registry were buying large quantities of unscented lotion to the beginning of its second quarter. Another analyst said that somewhere in the first 20 weeks, pregnant women charged in supplements such as calcium, magnesium and zinc. Many buyers buy bales of cotton and soap, but when someone suddenly starts buying a lot of unscented soap and extra-large bags of cotton balls, and hand sanitizers and towels, you are asked who would be the approximate delivery date.

As computers Polo crawled through the data, could identify about 25 products which when taken together, have allowed us to give each buyer "prediction pregnancy "score. More importantly, we can estimate the due date within a small window, so you can send coupons programmed to target specific stages of pregnancy.



But of course, destination, and then seems to have run into the "Uncanny Valley" problem of having enough information to target ads ... but do so in a way that feels

scary

"If you send someone a catalog and say," Congratulations on your first child! "And never told us that they are pregnant, you will make some people uncomfortable, "said Polo." We are very conservative on compliance with all laws of privacy. But even if you are following the law, you can do things where people are sick. "

About a year after her pregnancy's Polo model prediction, a man walked into a destination outside of Minneapolis and asked to see the manager. He clung to the coupons were sent to his daughter, and he was angry, according to an employee who has participated in the conversation.

"My daughter has this in the mail!" he said. "She is still in high school, and send coupons for baby clothes and beds? Are you trying to encourage her to get pregnant?"

Director 'had no idea what the man spoke. He looked at the mail program. Information was sent to the daughter of the man and the advertising contained in the maternity clothes, baby furniture and pictures of smiling children. The manager apologized and then called a few days later to apologize again.


On the phone, however, the father was a little embarrassed. "I had a conversation with my daughter," he says. "There has been some activity in my house were not fully aware. It is August I owe you an apology " However, there are indications that whites have tried to cross the Uncanny Valley .... to advertise very specific seems more "life like" for not being "too perfect." They are the ones who continue to send targeted advertising, but mixed with ads related, so that people do not realize How selective were:
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