A Question About the Future
In early 2016, I had just joined the Multimedia Business Unit at Ericsson when the head of the organization called me into her office. She had an urgent request: come up with an innovative concept for IBC, one of the biggest trade shows in the media industry. The focus? The future of TV and advertising.
"Advertising", she told me, "is the hardest thing to innovate".
I had three months.
The Brainstorm
I gathered a diverse group of people for a brainstorm. I asked them one question:
“If you had a magic wand, what would you want to see in the future of media?”
The answers kept circling back to one word: immersive. People wanted to feel like they were inside the content, not just watching it.
The Concept
It’s a Saturday evening. Three friends — let’s call them Alvin, Diego, and Bettina — are gathered in a living room to watch a football match. The TV is on. Snacks are out. The energy is high.
But some of them are wearing something new: mixed reality glasses.
Through the glasses, a holographic stadium appears in the middle of the living room. It’s complementing what is going live during the match. The friends can still see each other, still high-five when their team scores, still pass the chips. But now they can also walk around a 3D view of the pitch, watching the players move in real-time from any angle.
The Breakthrough
What happens when halftime comes? When the sponsor’s commercial starts playing? What if the commercial break was the most interesting part?
The Patent
In 2017 I filed a patent. I was willing to wait 10 years for the technology to catch-up. My patent office accidentally dropped it without notice. Until today, I am still heartbroken.
Scene 1: Bettina and the Outfit
Bettina loves fashion . The game’s sponsor is Adidas, and they’ve just launched a new collaboration with Stella McCartney.
During the break, Bettina gets up to grab some water. She’s still wearing her Hololens glasses. As she walks past her coat rack near the entrance, she notices something new hanging among her clothes.
It’s the Stella McCartney x Adidas jacket she’d been browsing online last week. It’s hanging there, next to her real coat.
“Want to try it? Tap to see it on you.”
Scene 2: Diego and the Running Shoes
Diego is a runner. Every morning, 5K before work. The system knows this — not because it’s spying, but because Diego told his profile he’s into fitness.
During the same commercial break, Diego sees something different from Bettina. A TV commercial ad is playing and it’s an ad from Adidas. A football player is kicking the balls then the shoe flys out and land onto the floor, next to his feet: there’s a new pair of running shoes. The latest from Adidas. His size. His colour preference.
A subtle glow. “These just dropped. Want to know more?”
Same experience as Bettina, but customized to him.
The digital items belong to the physical world.
Scene 3: The Kitchen and the Milk
Later, the game’s back on, but now a different ad plays on the TV: a commercial for a new brand of organic milk.
Diego’s girlfriend walks to the kitchen to grab a snack. She opens the fridge.
There, on the shelf, right next to the regular milk carton they bought yesterday, is a holographic carton of the advertised milk. Same size. Same placement. As if someone had already added it to the fridge.
A small label floats beside it: “Organic. Local. Want to add it to your next grocery order?”
The ad on the TV becomes the product in her hand… almost.
Scene 4: The Concert Postcard
The evening winds down. Someone puts on music. Lady Gaga starts playing through the speakers.
Bettina, still wearing her glasses, glances at the coffee table. There’s something new sitting on top of the magazines.
A postcard. Holographic, but rendered so beautifully it looks printed. On the front: Lady Gaga, live in concert, two weeks from now, at a venue 20 minutes away.
She picks up and the back shows ticket prices. A button: “Get Tickets”.
The music playing in the room just became a personalized concert invitation.
2016 vs 2026
In 2016, I could only communicate this future through rough sketches and prototypes. The technology to live it seamlessly wasn't there yet.
Today, while the "Metaverse" is still maturing, I can finally visualize the reality I imagined ten years ago.
3D hologram of the "Stade de Lyon" in my home in Palo Alto (2016)
Imagining Bettina in Adidas by Stella McCartney (2025) in my same living room.