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Virgin Mobile is watching you watch them. Give ’em a wink.
As the latest part of its “Retrain Your Brain” campaign, called “Blinkwashing,” Virgin Mobile lets you use your eyes to control an online video experience. With the help of agency Mother New York and production company rehab studio, the wireless communications giant has created a YouTube video that uses your computer’s camera to determine when you blink. Your blink triggers the video to switch to a new scene, but the time-coded dialogue and overall storyline — that Virgin Mobile’s great deals are worth switching to in a blink — remain coherent.
This kind of video experience is pretty innovative, if a bit creepy. Japanese food company Ebara’s recent online game for kids similarly uses your computer’s camera to sense facial movement to play the game, but this use of facial recognition in a YouTube video is new. Try it out for yourself on YouTube, and watch the promo video below:
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