Registering for a Web service or site can be an exercise in frustration. Scrolling down the alphabetical list of countries to find your homeland is a pain (unless you happen to live in Afghanistan). Then there’s finding a good available username and creating a password strong enough to meet a site’s security requirements. But the last test is inevitably the most frustrating: a small box of distorted chicken-scratch that must be deciphered in order to complete the registration process. Users hate it–but now some advertisers see it as the next step of online advertising.

These challenge-response tests are there to prevent websites from becoming overrun by shadowy spam operators who use automated bots to sign up for legitimate-looking accounts. The tests are known as CAPTCHAs, which stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart. Putting a line through a word, or distorting it, makes it much harder for a spam bot to read. Trouble is, it’s often pretty hard for use humans too.

Now New York-based startup Solve Media wants to keep that security measure, while turning your registration irritation into ad dollars. By swapping illegible text with an advertisement, Solve has created a system that is beneficial to both users and marketers. Instead of typing in a random assortment of letters and numbers, we soon could be entering a company slogan or a brand tagline.

Microsoft, for example, will ask users to type in “Browse Safer” as part of an advertisement for Internet Explorer. Toyota may ask you to type in a new theme its pushing. Perhaps other companies will take advantage of your undivided attention by implanting corporate messages into your conscious: “I want a Pop Tart” or “Coors Light Does Not Taste Like Urine.”