To the narrative purists, the product-centric realm of advertising is beneath study. But there is no larger a 'conch' than advertising, and it tells us more stories over the course of our lives than any other industry. So when companies engage in advertising that works, especially if it's heavy on story, we're going to take notice.

Today, that means discussing the conspiracy-vibed Nokia N900 smart phone launch spot (entitled "Nokia N900: Focus Group" directed by David Masters for The Mill), and the way Nokia's engagement with customers on a product level helps make it work.

While the Nokia spot is effective on a creepy, engaging level, many ads fail to meaningfully connect when using this sort of cinematic/FX extravaganza approach alone because the illusions can come across as patronizing spin to veil sub-par or unoriginal products.

As an example, see 'Its go time' below for PSP Go, which is so ridiculously layered in hipster cliche aimed at zombie youth that it can instinctively raise distrust in the product--if they have to hide what looks to be a cool game system behind absurd gloss, what else are they hiding? We realize the ad has a specific younger, male target, but it's nonetheless creating a product-based lie, and a lie covered by special camera tracking and cocaine-free nightlife is still a lie (the fact is, cigarettes don't make you look cool, and PSP Gos don't get you into parties).

Nokia, on the other hand, isn't hiding the product, and that's one less barrier for the story. The the N900 smart phone is built around Maemo, "a software platform that powers mobile devices, primarily based on open source code developed by Nokia in collaboration with many open source projects such as the Linux kernel, Debian, GNOME, and many more".

"The release of the N900 sees the culmination of months of testing, tweaking and hard work, all to ensure that you get the device you have been hoping for.

The project however, has only just begun...

It's all of you out there - the developers, the fans, the consumers - who are going to dictate where the device goes and what it is capable of. Get thinking, be inventive, use your imagination and push the N900 to its limits. The work you do will make this device better - better than even we thought it could be. And that's how it should be.

Whether you want to participate and develop for the Maemo platform, buy the product or just learn more we want you to be involved..."

In other words, consumers can get their hands dirty with the product. If they love it, it will fly. If they don't, it will likely die. And that transparency on quality and control, we would argue, is what lends itself to story opportunities.

When the product comes with community engagement, it allows consumers to lower their guard. Confident that the product is being weighed by peers, they can sit back and gobble up the entertainment value of a campaign ... if it's there to be had. And in the case of the N900, Nokia delivers.

The effects are well integrated, and beautifully established by the atmosphere and character interaction in the first two minutes of the video. Just the right balance between setup and hook. It doesn't feel like it's trying to trick you into anything other than eerie fun. It's a nice, little story pocket wrapped tidily around a product--closer to a branded story or product placement than a hard launch.

By the time you get to a product, you're involved. Who are the reflected faces in the glass? Is it a focus group or an interrogation? We want more of the story and have no problem riding along with Nokia to get it.

Engadget goes so far as to call the spot "nightmarish" and suggestive of mental illness. Maybe not thematically what Nokia had intended, but you need story to pull off that kind of reaction.

For more info visit maemoproject.com or maemo.org.