We are buying nanotechnology products. Sometimes it's obvious as in a 'nanowhitening toothpaste' and sometimes it's a 'new antibacterial bandage' capitalizing on the antibacterial properties of silver nanoparticles which are never mentioned in the advertising. Before going further it's worth noting that this is an attempt to understand how nanotechnology is entering the marketplace; it is not intended as a direct critique of the capitalist system or the business of marketing and advertising.

Penetration

AdorageMD is a 'skin couture' line of products. Apparently originating in France, the products were in the 2008 Academy Awards (Oscars) gift suite^[1] where movie stars have their pick of whichever gifts appeal. The products' effects are described this way, "The skin is reprogrammed and learns how stay healthy, young, and glamorous." At least one of AdorageMD's products is a nanotechnology product.

Adorage guarantees the results in 10 - 14 days. Hyaluronic acid is the best alternative for Restyline and Juvederm injections. With Adorage's age-defying products, skin cells are getting rid of toxins and resist the formation of wrinkles. The formula was created using nanotechnology, so the molecules of the product are small enough to penetrate the skin. ... In these formulations Adorage combined the secret French recipe with innovative cutting-edge technologies.^[2]

While it's difficult to confirm the Academy Award claims or even know if the company exists anywhere but on the web, it certainly seems feasible. Cosmetics companies are deeply invested in nanotechnology research, L'Oreal is the sixth largest patent holder in the US (more than GE Electric, Motorola, or Eastman Kodak). Their direct competitors such as Estee Lauder, Shiseido, Christian Dior, and Proctor & Gamble are also heavily involved in adding nanoparticles to cosmetic products. L'Oreal has been researching the nanotechnology area since the 1980s and introduced its first 'nano' products in 1990. Revitalift, a heavily advertised L'Oreal product, uses 'nanosomes' to transport vitamins and other active ingredients into the skin's outer layer.^[3]

Shapeshifting

BMW recently announced a new car, 'The BMW GINA Light Visionary Model'. It's still a prototype and the seven-page media release provides remarkably little detail. There is no mention of it anywhere in the release but it's hard to imagine a car that has a flexible skin and unusual optical properties that doesn't owe something to nanotechnology. The news hit the nanotechnology blogosphere where it was immediately coined a shapeshifting car. (The release is available at the website listed in the footnotes.)^[4] The response may have owed something to the relaunch of a 1970's US television series, Knight Rider in early 2008. The car in the series is called KITT and can change shape and colour by nanotechnological means.^[5]

Nokia in early 2008 submitted an entry called the Nokia Morph to the Museum of Modern Art in New York, New York, USA. Part of an exhibit running from February 24 to May 12, 2008 which was titled, Design and the Elastic Mind, the Nokia Morph is a phone flexible enough to be worn as a cuff or wristband until the next call when it can be unrolled and reshaped into a working phone that will clean itself.  A joint project between the University of Cambridge and Nokia, the Morph does not actually exist. There is an animation which illustrates how such a device might look and work and there are drawings but there is no Morph, not yet.^[6]

Mind meld

Sometimes companies want to get a head start on marketing products by having someone else dream them up and create a demand in the movies and television programmes we watch.

This model has accelerated IBM's ability to collaborate on new ideas and create new market opportunities in areas including nanotechnology, digital imaging, predictive software, and emerging medical, environmental and collective intelligence technologies. [emphasis mine]^[7]

'Imagine the World in 2050' was both an event and the start of a new relationship between IBM and the University of Southern California (USC) School of Cinematic Arts. Five of IBM's top scientists met top students and alumni, along with invitees from the entertainment industry, to explore this notion of a collaborative model going far beyond product placement in movies and television programmes.^[8]

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Nano goes Pop

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Business loves Nano