Sunday, December 2, 2007

Christmas Shopping

I am sure you have noticed the number of television commercials involving GPS devices during the holiday season. I find the one of a ribbon cutting for a new bridge the most intriguing. Immediately following the cutting of the ribbon - a matter of a second or two - a couple with a GPS device in their car drives by and then over the bridge.

Clearly the intent of the commercial is to show that even though the bridge had just opened, it had already been loaded onto the GPS device and made available to the customer; the company is advertising the timeliness and accuracy of its spatial data. I wonder, however, if the company is not creating an expectation for consumers that cannot be met -- and which could be used against them in future litigation.

1 comment:

Justin Bronn said...

I saw this on TV a few weeks ago, and forgot about it until viewing this post. I remember feeling uncomfortable after seeing it -- maybe I'm old fashioned, but I prefer my GPS unit to be conservative, rather than sending me to be the guinea pig.

For those who haven't seen it, the TomTom advertisement may be viewed via YouTube.