The New Captcha? A Brand's Slogan

You know captchas, the world's most widespread test of humanity, right? A website presents you with some distorted text and you use humans' better-than-robot ability to decipher those letters and type them into a box, proving you are Homo sapiens and not a few lines of spammer code.

Fast Company brings word that a new kind of captcha could be on the horizon. Instead of typing distorted words, you'd type a brand slogan. No, I'm not kidding. And yes, I agree, that does sound aggressive. Apparently, it's great for brand recall.

Now New York-based startup Solve Media wants to keep that security measure, while turning your registration irritation into ad dollars. By swapping illegible text with an advertisement, Solve has created a system that is beneficial to both users and marketers. Instead of typing in a random assortment of letters and numbers, we soon could be entering a company slogan or a brand tagline.

Microsoft, for example, will ask users to type in "Browse Safer" as part of an advertisement for Internet Explorer. Toyota may ask you to type in a new theme its pushing. Perhaps other companies will take advantage of your undivided attention by implanting corporate messages into your conscious: "I want a Pop Tart" or "Coors Light Does Not Taste Like Urine."

Read the full story at Fast Company.

This article available online at:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2010/09/the-new-captcha-a-brands-slogan/63328/