Mark Bridge writes:
We all have guilty pleasures. One of mine is the sci-fi film Demolition Man. Sylvester Stallone is 20th-century police sergeant John Spartan, who finds himself fighting crime in 2032 alongside the delightful Lieutenant Lenina Huxley, played by Sandra Bullock.
A joke at the expense of Arnold Schwarzenegger, then best-known for his action films, refers to the ‘Schwarzenegger Presidential Library’. That joke doesn’t seem so implausible since Arnie’s election to the Governorship of California. There’s also a reference to all restaurants being owned by Taco Bell - or Pizza Hut depending on where you saw the film - and there’s a radio station that plays nothing but commercials.
Commercials as entertainment? Oh yes. Right here, right now. In a move that makes the radio ads of Demolition Man seem positively archaic, Apple has just released the iAd Gallery. It’s described as “a celebration of advertising, featuring iAd campaigns from some of the world's best brands and their advertising agencies”.
The app’s description, which I really hope was written by a copywriter with a wry smile, says it “gives you easy access to a selection of the fun and informative ads that have run in some of your favorite apps”. An application filled with ads, not interrupted by them.
Anyway, if you have an iPhone - and don’t have time for 2032’s radio station with “wall to wall mini-tunes” - you’ll find the iAd Gallery free in Apple’s app store.
Be well.