Start saying goodbye to those squiggly words or random letters you sometimes have to type in on Web site security tests when buying event tickets or participating in online contests.
Slogans and sales pitches are taking their place on a growing number of sites.
The tests, called captchas — a term coined by Carnegie Mellon University researchers in 2000 stands for “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart” — prevent computers from making false online accounts and logging into private ones.
Unlike in the past, these new captchas will serve a dual purpose, as both a security measure for the Web sites publishing them, and as an advertisement for the companies paying to have them published.
Two companies, Solve Media and NuCaptcha, are creating the ads, requiring users to type in an ad’s slogan or sales pitch, or watch a video advertisement before entering a word or phrase.
The new ads first appeared online last fall. Solve Media’s clients include Microsoft, Universal Studios and Toyota, while NuCaptcha has created advertisements for Activision and Disney.
Toyota began advertising through Solve Media in September and said the type-in ads have been a success.
“Captcha ads offered us a new way to engage consumers and help reinforce branded messages,” Zoe Zeigler, a Toyota spokeswoman, said in an e-mail.
Universal has also advertised with Solve Media since last year. Media supervisor Lindsay Dye said type-in video ads were used to promote the movies Devil, Catfish and, most recently, Little Fockers. After watching a trailer, Internet users were asked to type in the films’ release dates.
“This is a great way to ensure people are watching our ad work,” she said.
David Doty, the vice president and chief marking executive for the Interactive Advertising Bureau, a group that promotes advertising innovation, said these ads represent a growing trend in online advertising…