I can honestly say that I don't find it creepy, but only because I don't watch enough television to even notice.

This is why I drink Pepsi.

;)

The ODST advert isn't very go-army at all. It opens with a soldier's funeral, then cuts to some pretty horrific training, followed by an equally horrific battle. It closes with what is clearly a situation without much hope. Grim determination isn't really 'GO ARMY!' Plus they're fighting aliens...

I don't think Coca-Cola are after world domination either, unlike those pesky lizard-people.

coca-cola isn't after world domination, they already got it.

come on man. it could be anything, as long as it says halo on it people will think it is cool.

I mean, I think it's really rather disturbing. why does coca cola need my picture? I mean for fucks sake, it's called 'facial profiling' they didnt even give it a more friendly name

@Sic - it's a play on words, trying to take the "evil" phrase "racial profiling" and poke fun at it.

you dont think a database of "facial profiles" is creepy/innappropriate/orwellian/disturbing at all?

Why is this creepy? It's completely opt-in - if you don't throw your photo in there, it doesn't have anything to match. Did you even look at the site?

If they were harvesting from sites without people's consent, I'd be more than a little annoyed, but if people want to use this, I don't see the problem. It's their choice - and I'd find it more disturbing to have people say people *can't* do this if they choose to. I don't need a nanny state, nor do I need a nanny Sicarius.

That's what we have plastic surgeons for:)

Seriously though, how is coca-cola gathering this database of facial profiles, as I have never seen the commercial or heard of this social experiment?

Sic, what do you think they would even do w/ this that is so creepy? We live in a world of Facebook/MySpace/YouTube where people provide far more personal information than even most governments would care to have. Many people want to be seen.

I don't ask to be contrary, I just don't know what the true concern is.

What is the Coke thing all about?

And yeah by the way the ODST thing struck me more as a "horror of war" type of thing, especially since they keep cutting to that really young guy who you assume will probably be out in that horrific battle fairly soon.

Why a commercial that basically says "by this game and we can make the horror of war real for YOU" is at all successful in today's society, that might be the bigger issue.

http://www.cocacolazero.com/index.jsp

@ Thucy - because the escapist in "me" wants to experience being next to some one blown away (as long as it isn't "me") and to do the blowing away of the enemy (especially an alien invasion).

P.S. "me" means the target audience - teens and 20-something single males amongst others.

I personally like the advert because I love the games. You get to play as one of those very grim men fighting against genocidal aliens. There's no human-human war involved, it's fighting for survival AS humans. I don't think there's a more justifiable war than that really. That's why people would play it as far as I understand it. Not to experience the horror of war but to be a species-wide hero. I would argue shooters that take place in real warzones that exist today are far dodgier things to deal with.

All that is rather off topic though.

Thanks for the link, stratagos. I went to the site and I really did think the whole thing was sort of creepy. The music itself reminds me of something from a horror film. It does beg the question, why is a global corporation engaging in a social experiment.

It's a strange marketing campaign, to be sure, and I'd never do it, but I don't find it all that sinister. Why would being able to find someone with a face like mine make me want to drink Coke Zero?

It's weird and a little bit unsettling if you really deconstruct it, but it's just an ad, after all. And maybe it's working. We're talking about it.

just because people do something voluntarily doesnt make it less intrusive.
for example, facebook is voluntary, and I'm sure most people here have one, but facebook is payed for by the CIA.
cell phones are another good example. cell phones are tyed to your identity, always shpow show your physical location, and the newer phones can be turned on as microphones. a cell phone is like a national id.
it's like they are taking things rational people would never do, and making them 'cool' so people will.

CIA pays for face book? Where is your evidence.

Freaking tyed... freaking tyed.. I hate you lol

The FBI made that claim after former KGB agents were interrogated by the NSA. But not before a NASA VP cooroborated this w/ an IRA VIP during an investigation of the DoD taking monies designated for the NIH and CDC. It was a complete clusterfornication:)

Everyone, please keep a sense of humor. Late afternoon, tired from working hard, tendency to send inane forum messages.

So, Sic, where do disposable "pay-as-you-go" cell phones fit into this conspiracy? Also, you do know you can turn the GPS off on a cell phone and, if you turn it off completely (remove the battery if you like) it is not able to be accessed remotely.

Don't believe the tech they show on TV. It is wildly futuristic and not realistic at all.

Oh, and the CIA is forbidden by law from operating within the US. Facebook's servers are located with in the US. Please provide proof to back your accusations or STFU.

@LG - wouldn't that be a Mongolian Cluster Fornification? ;-)

I visited St. FU's once. Wasn't what I expected; the residents were very abrupt and unhelpful. Horrible, horrible chamber of commerce.

Yes, I forgot about the Mongolian. Thank you for catching that, as others may then have gotten confused.

@LG that was good for one so tired.

See Sic, I've heard that particular conspiracy theory before, but I don't really count it as credible. When you say things like "the CIA owns facebook", you're just proving yourself to be on the other side of the coin to those who believe the government can do no wrong. You *automatically* believe anything that smacks of Big Brother coming to screw you, which is just another form of blind belief.

What is really damning about this, unfortunately, is that people are used to the crying of wolf, and hence if you actually do uncover a genuine example of government abuse, people will assume you're just parroting something you read on the internet, somewhere.

Which, personally, is something I'd be wary of, if you truly do believe some of your platform, and are trying to convince people of your viewpoint.

Of course, if you just want a forum to throw this crap around, I'm hardly in a position to stop you. Or to care. But if you want any people to treat your claims with credibility, you may wish to... revise your rhetorical methodology.

"just because people do something voluntarily doesnt make it less intrusive."

Ridiculous. If do it voluntarily then you're putting yourself in that situation. Perhaps the information you provide will be used in a way you don't like, but if that's the case then don't do it!

"facebook is voluntary, and I'm sure most people here have one, but facebook is payed for by the CIA.
cell phones are another good example. cell phones are tyed to your identity, always shpow show your physical location, and the newer phones can be turned on as microphones. a cell phone is like a national id."

I would love to see any evidence that the CIA "pays for" Facebook, rather than it being a for-profit company ran by the luckiest man alive, Mark Zuckerberg. Perhaps there's some kind of a connection between the government looking for pedophiles or whatever on Facebook, and I remember a story about a summons being sent through Facebook in Australia, but nothing about the CIA secretly running Facebook for some nefarious purpose.

Yeah, you can track cellphones, since cellphones need to be in a network to work and the network needs to know where the calls are coming and going from. I don't think it's too much more of an invasion of privacy than car registration is.

Oh, and you need a warrant to listen to phonecalls and track people using their cellphones. I can hear the cries of Bush listening to tape recordings of your calls to your grandma in Ireland at three in the morning already, but those certainly extra-legal actions were all for international calls, and all for terrorist suspects. The investigations never STARTED with wiretapping, how could they? At any rate, there's no reason to worry about Uncle Sam tracking you with your cell phones unless there's already a good reason for the government to think you're up to something illegal.

It'll be a Brave New World before it will ever be 1984.