Talking Newspapers Startle Readers in India

Sept. 27, 2010— -- From tech savvy India, another first: "talking newspapers."

The Times of India and The Hindu, two of the largest circulated papers in the world, released a special advertisement in their daily papers Tuesday, launching Volkswagen's new sedan, the Vento.

When readers opened the paper to the back page, a light-sensitive, voice activated chip began reading out why you buy their new automobile. The "talking" advertisement — an audio rendering of the print commercial similar to a radio ad —was pasted on the final page of the paper's special 10-page section. The talking newspaper became the talk of India.

Unsuspecting readers bolted upright when the advertisement voice activation began. In many parts of the country there were unintended consequences from startled readers.

The police in Delhi received numerous calls, particularly from elderly Indians, who were frightened and suspicious of the talking newspaper.

In Mumbai, the bomb squad was called out when passersby became suspicious of noises coming from discarded newspapers in trash bins. Some readers thought they were hearing the voice of a ghost.

The police commissioner of Mumbai, Sanjeev Dayal, released a statement asking people not be fearful of the new technology.

The 2.2 million copies soon became a sought after collector's item. The executive president of the Times Group, Bhaskar Das, called the advertisement an innovation that could change the way print media is viewed.

Divya Gururaj, managing director of ad agency MediaCom which worked on the talking paper ad, was delighted with the reaction despite the bomb scares and the fact that some didn't work in Delhi because they got wet in the rain.

But as an indication of the ad's success, he said those who bought wet newspapers "were so upset that they called Times of India & asked for the innovation to be repeated the next day."

"We did expect that our innovation would have India talking about it. But it's great to see that we have created a stir the world over," he wrote to ABC News in an email.

Gururaj said the successful launch of the Volkswagen ad indicated "the possibilities are immense... am sure we will see more innovations in this area now."

Already marketing experts are talking about how this new technology can be copied by other brands as well as adapted to other parts of the print media. Headlines, special reports, sports roundups, weather reports could all be adapted as the technology is improved.

Volkswagen India, which is competing in one of the most competitive automobile markets in the world, was pleased with the buzz from the advertising campaign. They said the new technology gave a "human voice" to the company's passion for their product.