I'm not going to make that a hyperlink, because frankly I don't want to reward Rolling Rock. Writing about it is enough. The blogs and tech sites I've read seem to indicate that the idea of sending a huge laser beam to the moon to write out a corporate image is technically feasible. The problem being the FAA isn't too wacky about it (they get all upset with laser pointers, think about what they'd feel about this).
So the consensus has been that Rolling Rock has put together a stunt-advertising campaign to get people to go to Moonvertising.com and play around with their features there (hence, me not linking to it).
But I'd just like to throw out that Rolling Rock may actually attempt this thing. Shining the beam at the moon from either restricted airspace or from even say, the open ocean in international waters and they might get away with it. Assuming again that Rolling Rock has actually built one of these laser beams in the first place.
Coke thought about it back in 1999 and thought they could make it work and get their logo on the surface of the moon for everyone to see ... maybe Rolling Rock will go through with it.
And we'll see their green logo on the surface of the moon. I guess we'll have to wait until the 21st to find out whether this is a stunt or a new way to pollute and corrupt nature's wonders with advertising. As Neil Armstrong would say, "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap in my Air Jordans."
UPDATE: The Boston Globe assures us this is a hoax. From the short article:
To repeat: This is viral advertising; the company isn't actually going to project a laser beam 237,000 miles into space.They sound pretty sure of themselves.
(image courtesy Lokiv7 on Flickr using a Creative Commons license. Photo not of the Tacoma billboard)
26 comments:
Methinks that would be visible from just about everywhere that is under the moon at that time... of course, the topography of the moon factored with the topography of the earth would indicate that many places would see the image with some type of distortion.
That aside, if this goes down then I'll get the class action lawsuit going. Anyone want to join in? There are no words in the English language for how offensive I find this! I only hope it's just a gimmick and not for real.
I was in New York meeting with some folks from Ogilvey and Mather several years ago. During the trip I also stopped in to see some "innovative" marketers in SOHO. They showed me how with their technology they could show logos on the walls of racing venues and the backstops of baseball stadiums as if they were printed there instead of being a broadcast overlay.
Then they lost me completely. They showed a seaside tennis venue that had an ocean backdrop and said, "with this, we can even bring you the surf and sand, sponsored by Corona" and made it look like the Corona logo was integrated into the waves and surf.
Hated it.
Love Corona though.
I feel violated. Everyone who feels inclined to go to the stupid website should post a "message on the moon" about how sucky it is to mess with the moon, or how crappy rolling rock is. If they are bombarded with those kinds of messages maybe they will stop. Or maybe Erik is right and no one should go to the website. If they really do deface the moon I'll be really depressed.
You shouldn't go to the website, but only because it's got a pig of a flash application that takes forever to load.
They're joking. For one thing, they say they're going to do it during a full moon, but that's when the moon is in full sunlight. There's no way a laser a quarter of a million miles away can compete with that.
And if they did have a laser capable of doing this, and an aiming mirror that could handle that much power, Rolling Rock could earn extra cash by offering to shoot down incoming Russian missiles.
I simply would not buy anything from a company that uses the moon for advertiseing in this way.
I for one think this would be fun and cool thing to do. I would of course want to put my butt on the moon because I think that's funny. Who would regulate the space and who could avdertise when and I want to be a moon space salesman. I call the moon there, I said it and you guys are witnesses. So who wants to join my moon ad space sales team? I'll begin the bidding at a mere 25,000 moon dollars(coversion rate yet to be determined) So once again I say quite your whining you crybabies and jump on the moon ad train now before it's too late!
you guys are losers
whats the big deal?
wait, there isnt a big deal.
why cant someone do something original without you close-minded fools filing lawsuits....
on the 21st im gonna sit outside on a beachchair with a rolling rock in my hand, looking at the moon wether its green or not
It seems like there would be better contrast if the laser was projected at a new moon instead of a full moon.
So much for sitting outside, holding hands with your loved one, romantically gazing at the full moon. Now I'll have to gaze at a freaking corporate logo of the day! This is heinous!
Moon space salesman, I want to join your team! All we need is 40 idiots and we'll have ONE MILLION MOON DOLLARS! Brilliant. I would also like to put my butt on there as copy filler when we are short of paying advertisers.
Like all advertising, the mere fact people are talking about it, positive or negative means they've achieved their goal. They just want to get their product name burned into your grey matter.
I think they'd rather just have people talking about their moon stunt than talking about how much their beer sucks. I've never really met anyone ecstatic about rolling rock, other than its cheap and has fancy green glass bottles.
Uhm, isn't their something iellegal called, false advertising? Thank you.
This is just a further example of how Anheuser Busch is absolutely trashing the Rolling Rock brand now that they own it. While the Rolling Rock product itself has never been a great beer, it at least had some nostalgia associated with the brand and with Old Latrobe. Moonvertising is yet another example of AB's attempt to take the tired Bud Light toilet/fratboy humor style of advertising and apply it to every other product in their portfolio. Perhaps the RR brand manager gave their agency (Goodby,Silverstein & Partners) the direction of "We're really trying to kill this dog of a brand so come up with something utterly stupid." Well, if so, mission accomplished!
Merchants have been trying outrageous schemes to sell their products since products were for sale. People have complained about it for just as long. Ask yourself..."isnt there something else to be doing instead of complaining like babies?" I, for one, could care less. If you dont like A.B. then ignore them. If you like A.B. then enjoy.
You people make me sick...this is exactly whats wrong with America. Too many people think that the constitution somewhere states that they have a right NOT to be offended. Grow up you sissies and take it with a grain of salt...
another thing for the the moonbats to get angry about.
Let's not and leave it at that.
Why the big fuss about this? I agree with the other responder that supports originality. Unfortunately I was drinking Saranac tonight with some friends and probably missed the projection. IT IS NOT A BIG DEAL. The moon belongs to nobody and it doesn't matter if there is a flag up there (getting there first doesn't give you ownership rights).
So... lighten up and have a beer, projection or not.
I didnt see it on the moon tonight! Did anyone????
Hey I think i just saw something green on the moon right now, some sort of logo,
it was very very weak, against the white surface, it was almost like 'noise'
I think they must increase the power, they must ramp up the laser power from like 20 TeraWatts to like 100 TeraWatts. I feel they are trying to ramp up the power because all the lights of my house and my TV are getting a bit dimmer
Quote:
Anonymous said...
Merchants have been trying outrageous schemes to sell their products since products were for sale. People have complained about it for just as long. Ask yourself..."isnt there something else to be doing instead of complaining like babies?" I, for one, could care less. If you dont like A.B. then ignore them. If you like A.B. then enjoy.
You people make me sick...this is exactly whats wrong with America. Too many people think that the constitution somewhere states that they have a right NOT to be offended. Grow up you sissies and take it with a grain of salt...
END QUOTE:
this is exactly correct. They got people all worked up about something and now their name being spoken about everywhere. In a few years, you will still remember that company that tried to advertise on the moon. brilliant marketing, it worked!
incidently, that picture'd look better at its normal 500px width =) 408 scrambles it all up :)
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On the ad: Yep, in the end, this was WAY more effective than actually spending the money to actually show an image on the moon. Instead, they've implanted the -idea- of the image on the moon in your head already, for much less cost. :)
And because the idea was so over the top, we all end up writing about our horror of the thing, which ends up being even more advertising. :)
Wow, you people should google moonvertising, that campaign was genius. There is no such thing as bad publicity! get a life!!!
Are there people out there that honestly think that this is anything more than a joke? It seems folks are really taking this seriously...
Wow. Kudos to Rolling Rock for bringing the idiots out of the woodwork.
I love the moon! But, i too will be sitting in my lawn chair with a rolling rock hoping to see a green image on the moon.
Not to be too serious, but the problem is not the FAA, it is with the laser power needed.
The FAA frequently grants approval to outdoor laser usage (google FAA Form 7140-1, "Notice of Proposed Outdoor Laser Operations"). If an advertiser wanted to project lasers into the sky on a given night, it would be relatively simple for an experienced laser display company to select an appropriate site away from airports, use mitigation methods such as aircraft spotters, and file the appropriate paperwork in advance with the FAA and the FDA/CDRH (federal laser safety agency).
I am not sure why the ad exec in the linked story (Mediaweek) claimed there was an FAA objection. Again, the real problem is having enough laser power to make even a spot on the new (dark) moon, much less a readable logo.
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