Yesterday I was riding the subway in NYC and saw something I had never seen before — a print advertisement for Google maps.

In true Google fashion it was a simple ad with a clear message saying you could use Google Maps on your phone. BUT THERE WAS NO QR CODE. C’mon Google, you clearly missed an opportunity here to show people the power of bar codes and you just dropped the ball entirely. There are so many other aspects of your business that are promoting bar codes — the launch of Android and the G1, your own open source bar code reader, and your in depth education about bar codes when trying to sell print advertisement.

Yet when you’ve finally given the opportunity to demonstrate the power of bar codes, test them in a public mass market environment and start collecting real data about how people are or are not using them, you just didn’t even take the chance.

I’m really disappointed.