• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, March 7, 2013

Google is making it personal by showing how technology and creative can put viewers not only in the content, but in the moment. Some may call it real-time. The company launched a project -- Art, Copy & Code -- Thursday that furthers the work it did last year with brands like Coca-Cola. Iconic non-digital ads were re-imagined in a project call Re: Brief. The ads were done with help from their original agencies.

This time, Volkswagen joins in, with similar projects from Burberry and adidas on the way. They show how data and creative will revolutionize advertising by personalizing the Web. Google demonstrates how it works through a video advertisement that starts by identifying the viewer's location.

When the viewer presses the play button, the technology running the video ad gathers data on the location, time, weather and events across the Web. It incorporates all into the video. The results turn out a personalized experience.

In a personalized Web that integrates technology, the audiences of one views a story designed solely for them. Along with brands, the agency storytellers, the moviemakers and the technologists join in the project to create ads, mobile apps and social experiences. Adding local images would tie it together nicely.

At Volkswagen, they call the experience Smileage, which launched Thursday. It builds off the 2012 campaign. "It's not the miles, it’s how you live them." A metric called "smileage" in the app measures the fun factor of each trip based on signals like weather, traffic, location, time and social interactions. It works with any car, not just Volkswagens.

Powered by a Google+ sign-in, users can choose to share Smileage experience with friends and family. Aman Govil, Art, Copy & Code project lead at Google, explains that the inspiration for the service came from a recent study showing that every day 144 million Americans on average spend 52 minutes in a car, 76% of them alone. The mobile app, for example, allows users on a road trip to upload photos and videos and add them to a live interactive map.