• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, November 7, 2011

Microsoft Advertising creative guru Stephen Kim just gave a preview of Microsoft’s new Avatar Kinect platform to OMMA Display attendees, and it’s pretty amazing. Basically, it converts us real human beings into talking avatar versions of ourselves. Pretty cool, and obviously, has lots of applications for individuals, content creators, and of course, brands.

But it also raises a pretty big question.

“If you are normal, most of you are probably thinking, why the hell wouldn’t I just have me there instead of my avatar,” Kim asked, adding, “That’s called Skype.”

The reason, he explained, is that when Microsoft did research on how remote location video could improve “the office productivity space,” if found out that avatars trump real people.

“We’ve spent lots of money on how do we create really high resolution cameras in the workplace… super clear, authenticity in terms of representing you,” he said, adding, “Guess what, no one wants to be represented in really authentic, high definition video clarity. Nobody wants to look the way they do in real life.”