Voice recognition software company Nuance is making a splash with its new Nuance Voice Ads product. The idea is that users will talk to an interactive display ad on their mobile devices, thus driving both engagement and recall. This could be huge, but only if it’s executed well. The demo from Nuance seems to miss the point of a rewarding interaction:

This looks like a cheesy magic 8-ball app with an ad tacked on to the end, not something that requires real voice recognition to generate a specific response. There is no connection between the technology and the brand we’re supposed to be “engaging” with. I’m sure there are amazing ways to leverage Voice Ads in ways that don’t suck, but they will require a lot of creative thought. If most voice ads are like this demo, they will be ignored at scale.