The downside of the internet of things looks likely to be the fact we will soon find advertising inescapable, as Google confirms it wants to include ads in every Google product, from fridges to thermostats.
According to The Wall Street Journal’s tech section Digits, a letter sent by Google last December to the Securities and Exchange Commission in the US reveals the tech giant wants to bring marketing to every facet of its business and every device.
“We expect the definition of ‘mobile’ to continue to evolve as more and more ‘smart’ devices gain traction in the market. For example, a few years from now, we and other companies could be serving ads and other content on refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities,” the letter said.
“Our expectation is that users will be using our services and viewing our ads on an increasingly wide diversity of devices in the future, and thus our advertising systems are becoming increasingly device-agnostic.”
So in a few years’ time, when you open your brand new Google fridge and realise that you’re out of milk, don’t be surprised if your find a voice echoing from the back of the utility proclaiming, “You appear to be out of milk, perhaps I can recommend a tastier brand to try instead?”
Smart house image via Shutterstock
