Video on a printed page?

Not sure where this will go, but it certainly has some interesting possibilities. CBS is putting a paper-thin video player on the printed page of Entertainment Weekly. Patented technology, up to 70 minutes of video played by a battery. Price tag is not disclosed, but since it's a joint venture of CBS and Pepsi, it's not likely cheap. At the moment.

http://tinyurl.com/nkgpkb

My initial reaction? This will interest textbook publishers. Assuming it's cheap enough and durable enough, they could embed their video elements into the book pages. It feels almost anachronistic, the ancient analog with the latest digital. But it has appeal. When the battery dies? Well, there's another reason to buy new books, not used. Not much of a strategy compared to creating an affordable product that everyone wants, though, and likely most publishers will see that (we hope).

The real value of this kind of player is mobility... getting an important message out uniquely. It definitely makes sense for advertising. May make sense for corporate communications. Just In Time training to the shop floor, the field salesforce... See, but my mind just keeps going back to sales and marketing. The sales guy opening the pamphlet, saying, "Let me show you, Mr. Prospect, how this works..."