Sold out in minutes, the upcoming Ashes may be the most anticipated cricket series of all time, but a talking doll is set to play a major role in determining its commercial success.
The pint-sized replicas of David Boon, an Australian batting (and drinking) legend, bowled fans over when they were released as a promotional gift during a one-day series earlier this year. For weeks 'Talking Boony' was a star turn in living rooms Down Under, shouting out a host of phrases from 'He's throwing down pies!' to 'Got any nachos? I love nachos?' at opportune moments during the televised coverage. And when Australia and England renew cricket hostilities in November, a more advanced version of Boony and a new partner will be unleashed on expectant couch potatoes. Of course, the wise-cracking toy was not dreamed up and manufactured just to tickle the laughter genes of laid-back Aussies or the mother country's travelling Barmy Army.
He was designed to sell that other sporting passion - beer. And such was the doll's success, Talking Boony has been described as the biggest marketing sensation so far of the 21st century.
The figurine was activated by producers who sent out an electronic audio trigger through people's TV sets. 'Got a beer yet?' and 'When are we going to the pub?' were just two of the 32 pre-programmed phrases heard in a quarter of a million Australian homes. But Boony is only the first in a wave of new generation of hi-tech promotions that are set to bombard unwitting consumers.
Not far removed from the sci-fi sales pitches in the Tom Cruise movie Minority Report, it will not be long before billboards talk directly to you.
Last month Unilever launched its new Sunsilk 'hairapy' range in the US with mall displays that activated as shoppers walked past.
Using 'sonic blankets' that can only be heard by the passer-by, a voice provided by actor Mario Cantone - the gay friend in Sex and the City - exclaims: 'My hair is poofier than my bridesmaid's dress?' Other ads use motion-detection technology to morph into mirrors as people pass by.