When is a new form of in-your face advertising not really an intrusion? Maybe when it's in your ears instead? According to Joe Pompeii, founder and president of Holosonics, beaming scary voices into your head from a billboard is actually helping minimize intrusive advertising. Holosonics, a technology company that enables highly focused "audio spotlights,"  provides the voiceover from a new Manhattan billboard promoting promoting A&E's new ghost series, "Paranormal State." Walk down Prince Street in SoHo and a directional speaker literally whispers creepy comments into your head.

The technology itself is quite interesting, and makes a lot of sense for Holosonic's initial market: museums, libraries, and other quiet places that can use audio narration to enhance the visitor experience. But hearing ads in your head while innocently walking down the street certainly strikes me as pretty intrusive!

As in museums, Pompeii claims the new approach is similarly all about lessening noise pollution:

"If you really want to annoy a lot of people, a loudspeaker is the best way to do it," he said. "If you set up a loudspeaker on the top of a building, everybody's going to hear that noise. But if you're only directing that sound to a specific viewer, you're never going to hear a neighbor complaint from street vendors or pedestrians. The whole idea is to spare other people."

Sorry, Joe, I'm not convinced. I'm sure it's a pretty cool experience to hear this particular promo for the first time, but the prospect of getting pitches in my ear every time I walk down a street, through a store, and around any other public space (all of which are no doubt anxious to auction off more advertising space to eager sponsors), is creepy indeed.  Intrusive advertising is still intrusive, even if it's more narrowly targeted.