The internet-connected refrigerator has often been mocked as the loopiest imaginings of internet evangelists gone wild. But the emerging Internet Of Things hype is forcing the industry to ask: is that really so far-fetched?

At the Consumer Electronics Show, Norm Johnston, chief digital officer of Group M’s Mindshare division, saw just such a fridge be launched – and he senses an opportunity for marketers.

“You’ll see even more news feeds in all sorts of different places as the Internet Of Things comes in to play – news feeds on your refrigerator at some point,” Johnston tells Beet.TV.

“The challenge for anybody that has a recipe is – who’s going to dominate that space? Who’s going to have the native content – or, indeed, the paid advertising content that you will opt in to that will appear on your refrigerator?”