Sandra O’Loughlin

3D is making a comeback. The technology that had kids in ’50s cinemas wearing silly paper glasses as they watched “Man in the Dark” and “It Came from Outer Space” is back—and it’s better than ever. But let’s not give James Cameron and his hit movie “Avatar” all the credit. Brand marketers at Coca-Cola, Motorola, Visa and others are incorporating 3D into blockbuster events, too.

The senior prom next month at Cupertino High School in Cupertino, CA, won’t be the usual coming-of-age bash where 18-year-olds get decked out in fancy dresses and tuxes and go a little crazy on the dance floor. This year, seniors will attend a SuperProm, a $100,000 affair the students earned by receiving the most online votes in a nationwide contest produced by Dell.

Text messaging contests are popping up faster than you can text error-free “Zippity Dooo Dahh Zippity Ayy,” which is what 15-year-old Katie Moore typed in a contest last June to win the third annual LG U.S. National Texting Championship. (Well, actually, that was just part of the phrase she keyed in to take home the title and a cool $50,000.)

There are roughly 307,006,550 people living in the U.S., but who’s counting? Well, the U.S. Census Bureau, for one, which measures the U.S. population every 10 years. And to make sure Americans return their census forms, especially traditionally under-counted populations such as minorities, children and low-income people, the bureau in January launched a $133 million national advertising campaign that includes TV, radio, print, online and outdoor ads in 28 languages to boost participation rates in the effort.

Back in the ’80s, AT&T wanted people to use their phones to reach out and touch someone. Now, marketers want people to use their camera phones to reach out and touch their 2D barcodes so they can send them product information, coupons and promotional messages.