Tesco Petrol Stations use face-scan tech to target ads

Tesco is installing face-scanning technology at its petrol stations to target advertisements to individual customers at the till.

The technology, made by Lord Sugar's digital signage company Amscreen, will use a camera to identify a customer's gender and approximate age.

It will then show an advertisement tailored to that demographic.

Oh great that’s just what we need tailored advertising, as if the public aren’t already overexposed to fecking advertising, that we now have it literally shoved under our noses while paying for petrol.

This is much worse than any other form of advertising because every other time there’s the option to walk away or change channel, but while you’re paying for petrol you’re stuck there, there is no escape, of course you could always buy your petrol elsewhere or pay at the pump, but apart from that there is no escape.

Actually come to think of it most other technology I’ve encountered like this usually doesn’t work that well, the self-checkout for example, so you could go into a Tesco garage and be a beer drinking, red meat eating, football loving mans man, and then this thing will scan your face and an advert for a bottle Blossom Hill Rose, or an advert for some hideous looking vegetarian meal will appear.

It gets worse because the person behind you will see what sort of products the computer has recommended be advertised to you, and they will no doubt give you a look when you walk past them. 

I think this idea is a step too far and is intrusive, I mean if the products that will be advertised on these screens to a variety of different people literally have to be forced down their throats then the chances are they won’t buy them, or aren’t worth buying, also does the screen know what you’ve already got, because it could advertise Sky TV and you could already have it.

Of course, as always, there is a way to avoid this simply don’t buy your petrol from Tesco, every little helps.