> what is this
The rumors and small information leaks remain pretty centered on one thing: Nikon's next big thing will probably be a larger-than-FX format camera, ala the Leica S2. Even comments out of Nikon officials, such as the "there will be no D3x" comment that came out of SE Asia seem to support this.
As I've written in another thread, I'm not a fan of this approach by Nikon UNLESS it is also accompanied by a high-resolution FX body. A good 24mp larger-than-FX MF1, 24mp FX D3x, and 24mp FX D800 would be a knock-out blow on the pro level, I think. A 24mp larger-than-FX MF1 all by itself would be a head shaker to most of the Nikon faithful. Remember, Nikon asked us to invest in a different lens set once before, and we've yet to feel like THAT set OR the FX set has been fully fleshed out. I really don't want to have three different lens sets in my gear closet. If that's what happens, why wouldn't I choose m4/3, F-mount FX, and Hasselblad as the three lens sets to own, for example?
> and are these real ads?
That is debatable. What happens when rumors start coalescing around details prior to a product intro (e.g., new MF mount coming) is that you get a mix of stuff circulating, some of which is real, some of which is someone's take on what is coming.
The thing that strikes me is that this is a series of ads. The question is this: why would you need a series? If we expect a camera to be launched at WPPI/PMA in early 2009, then we're already at the point where teaser ads would need to have been produced and be headed towards the media they're targeted for. We've already had one such ad, the WPPI "Something Big" teaser in Rangefinder. We'd need followup ads appearing in publications with Nov, Dec, and Jan dates.
I'm personally not a fan of teasing in marketing. It's extremely difficult to pull off correctly. On the one hand, you have the possibility of over-teasing (getting excitement higher than the actual product details justify--this can be price, delivery date, feature, or quality driven disappointment). On the other hand, you are starting to telegraph your plan to your competitors, who will almost certainly try to bracket you or dilute the impact of your announcement. Teasing is a very tricky tactic to master.
It also struck me in looking at these ads that they could be something else: they could be the result of an ad company presenting to Nikon to win their ad business. Sometimes when you have big changes afoot, you solicit bids on the account. You give them some briefing on what you're up to (e.g., "we're going to do a MF camera"), they present back some options for a new type of campaign, one that you haven't done before and is distinctively different than what your current ad company is doing. The look of these ads reminds of that kind of presentation: simple concept, crude/detailless execution. This could explain the questionable mount, for example. In an ad campaign mockup you'll tolerate such things; it's the big (pardon the pun) picture that counts. If this is indeed such a presentation, I'd guess that this ad company didn't win the account (or is about to lose it due to leaks).
