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The Internet Software

Opera to Put User's Face in Times Square 216

Posted by ScuttleMonkey from the all-in-good-fun dept.
An anonymous reader writes "Opera has announced that they will be putting one lucky user's face up in Times Square during the New Year's Eve celebrations. The ABC SuperSign will display the winner of of Opera's most recent contest that only requires a submission of your picture and the reason why you should be chosen as their New Year's mascot. Nearly one million partygoers will witness the super sized fan tribute with the Opera browser logo on the 585 square foot (that's 54 square meters!) screen."
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Opera to Put User's Face in Times Square More

Opera to Put User's Face in Times Square

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  • Screen Resolution (Score:4, Interesting)

    by biocute ( 936687 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:38PM (#14241773)
    For me, I would rather have my photo on opera.com for a month.

    By the way, does anyone know the screen resolution of this thing? I checked here [abcsupersign.com] but it didn't say much, and Wiki [wikipedia.org] says it's often very low resolution.

    • Re:Screen Resolution (Score:3, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Typically, large video displays have lower resolution than you might think. For example: The physical pixel size of the Samsung display in Times Square is ~500px X ~600px

      You'd actually be pretty amazed how good something can look at such a low res.

  • Whoever wins... (Score:5, Funny)

    by ari_j ( 90255 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:38PM (#14241777)
    I hope she's hot.

  • That chick from accounting... (Score:5, Funny)

    by infinite9 ( 319274 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:38PM (#14241778)
    So I guess it will be someone's O-face? Oh! Oh!

    • Hot Babe?!? (Score:3, Funny)

      by Dareth ( 47614 )
      They wouldn't just pick a nice photogenic female would they?

      As apposed to a pasty male, "Afraid of the evil daystar!", person.

      Winning quote: "I love Opera, especially when the fat lady sings."

  • Post Picture (Score:2, Funny)

    by Rac3r5 ( 804639 )
    Along with a small caption....

    to arrange a date, please call this number: ... ... ....
  • ...that I have to assume I just do not meet. Not sure that my nose pores will look that good at a half meter across each.
  • the big banner should just say, "we used to cost money, but now we're free even though many web sites don't display properly, but do note that we invented lots of cool ideas that were adopted by all of our competitors and most people don't know this but most of our core marketing team is in the southern USA area and also we have this mobile browser accelerator that nobody even really uses much because it only works on like ten phones"...and the winner of this contest will be: ideally thin, caucasian and wit
    • Troll my butt. This is funny and accurate.

    • Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox? (Score:5, Informative)

      by worb ( 935866 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:22PM (#14242129)
      I'm hesitant to reply to this troll and give it more exposure than it needs, but on the other hand, a few corrections/different points of view probably won't hurt...
      "the big banner should just say, "we used to cost money, but now we're free even though many web sites don't display properly,"
      That is true for all non-IE browsers. Until v1.5 Firefox couldn't even display the old Slashdot correctly, but you often had to refresh to make it work properly.
      "but do note that we invented lots of cool ideas that were adopted by all of our competitors and most people don't know this but most of our core marketing team is in the southern USA area"
      Opera Software is based on Norway (Northern Europe).
      "and also we have this mobile browser accelerator that nobody even really uses much because it only works on like ten phones"..."
      Not sure what this is all about, but Opera Mini [opera.com] works on most phones available today.
      "and the winner of this contest will be: ideally thin, caucasian and with a hip "opera user look" that the company can deploy in a larger integrated campaign. mark my words: no fat people, burn victims or others in that category of "couldn't work for abercrombie" will win..."
      Let's see what happens. Opera isn't exactly known to do it the traditional way. Heck, the CEO doesn't even allow himself a big fat pay check even though he certainly deserves it. He could have been a millionaire, but drives around in a rusty old car.
      "in fact, my guess is that the winner will be employed by either starbucks or abercrombie, age 22-26, female (tech influencers right now), shoulder length hair that's dark, thin and with a natural look light on cosmetics and wearing only solid colors on the billboard because it will create better contrast with the opera logo..."
      Actually, the person will be chosen based on submissions posted on the my.opera.com community site. They will not choose a professional model, since this isn't Opera's style. See above about how even the CEO is really down to earth.

      They don't like to brag, so this marketing campaign is really unlike Opera to begin with, so my guess is that they'll choose someone who looks decent enough, but probably not someone who could have been a model anyway. Just an average person who doesn't make Opera look really bad.

      Basically, this is meant as a "thanks" to the community that's been supporting Opera through all these years. Opera just turned 10, remember.

      Oh well, this probably won't get through since bashing Opera seems to be the popular thing to do these days...

      • "They don't like to brag, so this marketing campaign is really unlike Opera to begin with, so my guess is that they'll choose someone who looks decent enough, but probably not someone who could have been a model anyway. Just an average person who doesn't make Opera look really bad."

        Ah, but you see, Opera has put themselves in a slight bind. They promote themselves as a real grass roots company who's completely down to earth and real. So now they do this big press event, and people are skeptical that they

    • Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by StateOfTheUnion ( 762194 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:27PM (#14242167) Homepage
      I couldn't agree more . . . And to make matters worse, I just went to the forum [opera.com] where you can see uploaded pictures for the contest. If the 7 (yes that's right . . . seven) people that uploaded pictures as of the time that I visited the forum are any representation of Opera users, then I think that this ad campaign isn't going to get the demographically perfect person . . . Or at least not the demographically perfect person from a marketing perspective (stereotypically youthful, saavy, successful, and of course good looking with a look that implies professional or student in a way that would inspire people to use opera). And I have to agree with the parent post that the winner will probably be female . . . except there were no female pictures when I checked.

      Of course opening your eyes, smiling, and focusing the camera would have helped . . .

      Example 1 [opera.com] Example 2 [opera.com] Example 3 [opera.com]

      • "I couldn't agree more . . ."

        With what, exactly?

        "And to make matters worse, I just went to the forum where you can see uploaded pictures for the contest. If the 7 (yes that's right . . . seven) people that uploaded pictures as of the time that I visited the forum are any representation of Opera users, then I think that this ad campaign isn't going to get the demographically perfect person . . ."

        You are assuming that Opera is looking for the "perfect person". This isn't a huge corporation we are ta

        • Re:and then what? they'll usurp firefox? (Score:5, Interesting)

          by StateOfTheUnion ( 762194 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @07:49PM (#14242751) Homepage
          come on . . . get off your high horse . . . any company willing to purchase time on the jumbotron in Times Square on New Year's Eve is looking for a BIG publicity stunt to launch them into the big times . . . The fact that you think that this is merely a simple "thank you" from a happy company that is in touch with its customers speaks more of your naivete than it does of the strategies of Opera. Of course a big thank you is exactly what Opera's senior leadership want the userbase to think because they don't want to alienate their userbase.

          But closer examination of their strategic intent indicates that they have bigger plans. Big jumbotron on New Year's Eve smells a lot like Monster.com buying commercial airtime during the superbowl. They are looking to kickstart an infective marketing campaign through a very prominent ad on a very prominent medium at a very prominent time.

          Where is Opera compared with the other browsers? A niche player that serves as a focused differentiator (Read up on Classical Strategy (Michael Porter's five forces)). How can a niche player increase its market share? Only by becoming a differentiator or low cost leader . . . It's quite apparent that this marketing campaign is testing the waters to see how easy (or hard) it would be for Opera to shift gears.

          If we consider the Boston consulting Group Matrix (BCG matrix), we can plot FireFox as a question mark (upper right quadrant) making moves to the upper left quadrant (star). It's logical to assume that Opera may be wondering if it can do the same thing . . . becuase it is likely that Opera currently hovers somewhere betweeb dog and star (between upper right and lower right quadrants).

          In other words, Firefox has successfully broken Microsoft's stranglehold on the browser. Because customer's are now more likely to believe alternative browsers do possess adequate levels of Garvin's eight dimension of quality (Performance, Features, Conformance, Reliability, Durability, Serviceability, Aesthetics, and Perceived Quality), it is likely that this creates an opportune time for another browser to test the waters to see if it can go mainstream. It is quite apparent to the casual observer with elementary understanding of classical business strategy that this is a marketing stunt to gain data on the receptiveness of the marketplace.

          To think otherwise is to have bought into Opera's marketing agenda, to not uderstand classical strategic theory (I have intentionally ignored resource based systemic, and processual frameworks for strategies because I do not have the data to comment), or to simply be naive.

          • blah, blah, blah. All your big theories, matrices and dimensions do nothing to refute the GP (which said that they're not looking for the perfect model but an honest fan). Putting an everyday face up there as a thank you to their community would do much more to differentiate them and draw attention than beautiful, perfectly-styled model #2355567. The very fact that they'd stay true to their roots would have the side effect of being a pretty good publicity stunt.

            IOW, most of what you said is correct but it'

          • Blah, blah, blah is right. My how smart you are with all that jargon. How impressed am I? Not at all. Spouting a jargon-filled diatribe to an audience not familiar with it illuminates the state of your ego more than providing any useful information. If you even have a point, which you may very well not, you have simply made it incomprehensible.

            There really should be another category added to the slashdot scoring: Self-important Twit. You rate a 5.
          • Blah blah blah fancy words. Of course this is a marketing stunt. Of course they want more users. What on earth do you think the purpose would be otherwise?

            The point is that there's nothing sinister about this. They want to keep in touch with the user base, and they want to do something "crazy". Giving one user the chance to get his face on Times Square.

            You are insinuating that they are actually misleading their fans, which just proves that you simply don't know anything about the company. This is not IB

      • Preach on, bro! It's well known that Firefox nerds all look like male strippers... :)
    • Actually, I think it would be an interesting move if they went with someone who's *not* in this young-hip demographic--it could actually work well for them. Someone that looks like Joe Internet User could draw people who are concerned about these IE security issues they keep hearing about, won't have IE7 as an option (aren't like 90% of people still running Win98 or 2k--okay, maybe not 90%, but it's significant; I'm on 2k myself), and just in general want a friendlier UI. A friendly, intelligent-but-not-ove
  • Will this be like the previous "Swim the Atlantic" bit? "Oh no! Someone pulled the power cord on the screen, so we can't do it! But we REALLY tried! See? And don't forget to download Opera!"

    Meh.

  • dear god (Score:3, Funny)

    by eyrieowl ( 881195 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:44PM (#14241828)
    i look around the office, and i hope, and pray, that no one here uses Opera....

  • I already submitted (Score:5, Funny)

    by ImaLamer ( 260199 ) <john@lamar.gmail@com> on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:44PM (#14241830) Homepage Journal
    this profile of myself [tinyurl.com] but they rejected it for some reason.

    Something about competition and being human or something...
  • This sounds like it'll be the biggest dartboard ever for one unlucky user. I sure don't want my face on there!

  • Will Both.... (Score:2, Funny)

    by ehaggis ( 879721 )
    Opera users be submitting photos?
    • "Opera users be submitting photos?"

      Will FireFox have a similar event forcing both those Opera users to become really noisy on Slashdot?"
    • Yes, both of them, PLUS all the Mozilla users that are arrogant enough to want their face shown on a 20-ft high screen.

      I'll be signing up as soon as I have a picture! :)

  • Why? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by JMUChrisF ( 188300 )
    Why would I want that?

    I don't want millions of people telling me how funny looking I am. It's not like I'd get a high paying job out of it or my own TV show on ABC.

    Doesn't sound appealing to me, but I guess I'm not vain enough.

    • Well, if you are a hot girl between 18 and 28, and you are trying to get noticed in terms of modelling or something, and you download Opera, you have a great shot at winning. Five minutes worth of work in order to qualify for the contest? Heck, someone like that could just ask any geek, and they'd do the download for her. Easiest beauty contest ever.

  • Here's the resolution... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by gasmonso ( 929871 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:53PM (#14241905) Homepage

    There are a total of 2,300,000 LEDS at 122x48 feet. That equates roughly to a resolution of 2418x951 give or take a few :)

    http://religiousfreaks.com/ [religiousfreaks.com]

    • Re:Here's the resolution... (Score:5, Funny)

      by infinite9 ( 319274 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:04PM (#14241991)
      That equates roughly to a resolution of 2418x951 give or take a few

      Since it's in times square, does that make it a new year's resolution?
    • There are a total of 2,300,000 LEDS at 122x48 feet. That equates roughly to a resolution of 2418x951 give or take a few :)

      However, those LEDs are probably just the one color. Presumably they're using 4 LEDs per pixel - one red, one blue, two green; just like the colors in LCD/TFT displays. Which would then yield a resolution of 1209x475.5

      Since 475 is eerily close to the number of scanlines in an NTSC picture (480), I'd go with NTSC resolution, perhaps stretched out a bit faux-widescreen, or with some sideba
    • That's just for the text-craw bands.

      The screen itself is supposed to take a Betacam SP feed which would mean roughly 453x340 if I remember correctly.

  • Goatse anyone? (Score:5, Funny)

    by delphipro ( 449481 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @05:58PM (#14241940) Homepage
    Any chance of getting goatse up there? Think about the public service that would be, hundreds of thousands of people sobering up instantly. Of course, it will also point out which of your friends are truly grotesque as they are the only ones smiling while everyone else is gagging.
  • In other news, Microsoft will also put a selected Opera user up the wall

  • what are the ftp details? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Tandoori Haggis ( 662404 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:35PM (#14242217)
    Well it says PUT user's face.

    Where is the IP address or the ftp domain?
    Username and password for login?

  • oh boy (Score:3, Funny)

    by icleprechauns ( 660843 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @06:38PM (#14242243) Homepage
    i hope i dont win...somehow 50 ft pimples consuming times square seems more like something out of the next godzilla movie than something someone would actually want to see

  • A very pretty, but not extremely beautiful girl. I guarantee it.

    Hot, but attainable, about 20 years old.

  • It was a portrait of Guiseppe Verdi. You can see it here [wikipedia.org].


    PS - I'm actually using Opera right now, at work even.
  • I asked my daughter if she wanted her picture in Times Square. She said she's been there and done that [impoy.com]. 21 months, thanks for asking.

    Seriously, Time Magazine is posting submitted pictures on a billboard until they announce the Person of the Year. If they use your picture, they send you an email with a link to the photo of the billboard with your picture on it. It took a day for her picture to make it up.

  • Why? (Score:2)

    by belgar ( 254293 )
    Opera's most recent contest that only requires a submission of your picture and the reason why you should be chosen as their New Year's mascot.
     
    Because I never, never want to get laid again.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

  • Huh? (Score:4, Funny)

    by LFS.Morpheus ( 596173 ) on Monday December 12, 2005 @11:51PM (#14244013) Homepage
    (that's 54 square meters!)

    Huh? What is a 'meter'? While your "square feet" reference sounds familiar, could you please provide a useful measurement of comparison, like percentage of a football field (no, not a soccer field), the number of the number of Big Macs that could fit on it, or the number of 54" widescreen TVs would be needed to make this giant TV. Also, how many Libraries of Congress does it ... something?

    Thanks!
  • This has the potential to backfire. Remember when Duff Beer promised to put the winner's face on their calendar but found Moe to be so ugly (ugly), they had to slap a sticker over top of him?
  • that there are some pages you like to load and tasks that you enjoy doing with Firefox, and some others with Opera, and some where it doesn't matter. You'll find there are also occasional instances where it's better to be running IE (Windows Update, non-compliant video streams, etc).

    I'm glad I downloaded Opera, and I now have both Opera and Firefox running simultaneously, and I will adapt my use of both to my own tastes and needs.

    It's good for users to have competition in the browser marketplace.

    T

  • Obviously a ploy to find the person who downloaded it.

    From TFA: "We didn't think anyone would actually download it," said Project Lead Jim Feuerfuchs. "It was mostly a joke to see which one of us could code the most bugs per square foot of code. I use IE, myself."

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