So, if I am to believe everything I read on the internet – the only separating myself from a bot is the ability to recognize and mimic a simple string of nonsensical characters or phrases in the form a captcha. We’ve all used them at one time or another, the “prove you’re human test” when posting links on facebook, signing up for web services, leaving blog comments etc. They are nonsensical at best and blatantly unreadable and irritating at worst. But they are a decent line of defense against those who would attempt to spam your facebook profiles, saturate your blog with spam, and generally wreak e-havoc on the world. But a new breed of captchas is at hand, a new captcha that will be relatively easy to read, probably make sense and–most pertinent in our business, act as a bridge between utility and advertising–all while strengthening brand awareness.

“How can this be?” you might ask. Well, allow me to enlighten you.

Why did you take notes in school? There’s a good chance that somewhere along the way a teacher or a parent told you that writing things down helps you to remember them–especially the important things. Well, New York-based Solve Media and their clients are betting that their messages are important enough for you to remember. The plan is to combine captchas with ad revenue. Now, instead of typing out a string of nonsense you’ll write down a branded catch phrase from your favorite brands.

In the example below, random characters are replaced with the Microsoft altruism “Browse Safer.” Another example, an ad for the movie “The Town” might use something like “Turns out Ben Affleck can act, go figure.” McDonald’s, “Better than eating Cardboard.” And so on.

Internet Explorer branded Captcha

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