branding in the sky
Google Earth triggered so-called ‘roofvertising‘, i.e. people putting commercial/brand-related (and other) messages on their roofs so people using Google Earth could easily spot them. The most famous example of company roofvertising are undoubtedly the Target electronics stores, which have their logo on the roofs of their shops.
Gulfstream, one of the top companies in the private jet business, apparently took it a wee bit further and
“sent up one of their $50M business jets today on an 8.5-hour test flight spanning 11 states for the sole purpose of leaving their mark on the Net in the form of a flight track that spells out ‘GV’ (the nickname of the Gulfstream V aircraft being flown) when viewed online.”
via Slashdot
There is an interesting relationship between technology and the scales at which they allow us to see and act. Miniaturization is oriented to the smaller scale level and is squeezing ‘abilities’ to sizes previously unimaginable, changing the way we work, communicate, basically live our lives (yes, carrying the Library of Congress in your pocket at the size of a sugarcube or ‘thumbnail’ does make a difference beyond mere scale). Other technologies allow us to take on things of sizes way beyond ‘big’. As McLuhan once addressed it ever so eloquently, technologies are to bee seen as extensions of man. Advertising and branding aims there where our gazes are directed, which is an increasingly wide spectrum.
MIT’s advertising lab runs a fascinating blog about the future of advertising, touching upon a variety of topics, such as the expectation that in-game ads will be worth $1.2B in 3 years, an overview of main current trends in the ad/branding/media-world (e.g. branded utility, intelligent design, from editors-in-chief to editors-en-masse, content à la carte, media communism, etc.), Saatchi & Saatchi’s lovemarks, etc.
BTW, to get an impression of scale and proportion, for those of you have not seen it yet, do check out the Eames Office‘s legendary Powers of Ten video.
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