Invasion Of The Digi-Ads

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London commuters must feel like they've stumbled into a sci-fi flick. On the platform at Notting Hill Gate underground station, a poster for American singer Jack Johnson doesn't just promote his latest album, In Between Dreams — it plays three of the tracks. On the main escalator at Tottenham Court Road, nearly half a million riders a month watch ads such as an overflowing bath — for home insurers Direct Line — cascade down a line of 33 LED screens. And when Coldplay launched their album X&Y in May, giant screens beamed invitations to every turned-on, Bluetooth mobile-phone user within 100 m to download exclusive freebies.

For the moment, Britain's digital outdoor advertising market is tiny — just $38 million a year, according to outdoor ad agency Hyperspace — but appealing. Some 78% of travelers at Tottenham Court Road find the adverts entertaining, according to Viacom Outdoor, which currently sells ad space on the London tube. "It's early days," says James Davies of Hyperspace. "And we don't want to alienate consumers or scare them."

Indeed. Last week, a poster for the film Sin City became the first interactive ad to be banned by Britain's Advertising Standards Authority for allowing kids to see clips that were deemed too violent. But there might soon be subtler objections to rule on. If your Bluetooth is turned on, does that mean you're asking for spam? Some ideas are best left to science fiction.