Amazon Patents Pitching As-Seen-On-TV Products 83
theodp writes "Q. What do you get when you surround the image of Men in Black star Will Smith trying on sunglasses with a pitch for 'MIB Bill Smith Dark Shades'? A. U.S. Patent No. 8,180,688. 'Many people consume broadcast media such as television shows and movies for many hours a week,' Amazon explained to the USPTO in its patent application for a Computer-Readable Medium, System, and Method for Item Recommendations Based on Media Consumption. 'The consumed broadcast media may depict a variety of items during the course of the transmission, such as clothing, books, movies, accessories, electronics, and/or any other type of item.' So, does Amazon's spin on As Seen on TV advertising deserve a patent?"
Re:Debatable (Score:5, Interesting)
Hmm. It seems I misunderstood what the patent is trying to do.
Rather than embed popups and stuff in the video stream, they're trying to associate what you've watched with products that were placed in those particular shows.
I have to admit I've never seen anyone try to do that before. Largely, I think, because most advertisers and retailers realize consumers would hit the roof to have their viewing habits tracked and correlated in such a fashion.
Talk about an invasion of privacy! This makes tracking cookies almost palatable in comparison.