The NYTimes has a write up on Mini Cooper's latest foray into adcreep. Billboards that can recognize who you are as you drive by from a signal coded into the driver's key fob.

Mini mailed invitations to 4,500 of the 150,000 Mini owners in the country. Mr. McDowell said that Mini would monitor reaction to the test signs for about three months before deciding whether to expand to other billboards in the first four cities, to more cities or to other applications, like using the tags to display personal welcomes when drivers approach their local Mini dealership.

The enthusiastic guinea pigs for the Mini experiment will be more than a thousand Mini owners in New York, Miami, Chicago and San Francisco who have signed up for what the company calls “an ever-changing array of unique, personal, playful and unexpected messages.”

In addition to employment-related comments, the signs will affirm the driver’s favorite things about their car and driving habits (“Turns are made to be carved”), urge them to treat themselves to whatever customization feature is on their wish list (“You’ve earned your spoiler”) and wish them a happy birthday on the appropriate day. Since more than a third of Mini owners have named their cars, the messages will sometimes refer to the car by name.