Taking outdoor into outer space

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Imagine you’re spending a romantic evening with that special someone, and things begin to get serious in the best way, and you both glance up to see a gorgeous full moon, and the moon seems to suggest that the two of you seal your bond with a beautiful sparkling diamond ring. Literally.


Because a diamond company using patent pending Shadow Shaping technology claimed as its own one of 44 designated areas on the moon and used a fleet of special robotic vehicles to etch the company’s message right onto the lunar surface. Light from the sun and the shadows caused by ridges left by the robots handle the rest.

This unique advertising platform which takes the concept of outdoor to an extreme is being offered by Moon Publicity of West Valley City UT.

MP says that location is everything – flat areas offer less contrast, while highlands pose more of a challenge for the robots. And because of the spherical nature of the moon, centrally-located sections require less work for an equal amount of visibility back on earth. MP says the 44 sections can be subdivided, although that will likely require telescopes for those on earth to make out the logo. Or adjacent sections can be purchased to create an especially large image.

Believe it or not, Moon Publicity is already taking registrations for advertisers wishing to get in on the ground floor of this out-of –this-world proposition. It even has a minimum bid — $46K.

MP admits there will be challenges which must be overcome if this advertising platform is to become a reality. Getting the robots to the moon is obviously one such challenge, particularly in sufficient numbers to create an image visible from earth – a fleet of the robots will be required. They will also have to deal with extreme temperatures, sticky dust which may jam moving parts on the robots, and navigational challenges.

And that may well be the least of it. The political challenges are daunting, getting permission to carry out this project from governments – especially since the robots would ideally run on nuclear power. And there are social challenges as well. MP notes it may run up against people who object due to religious, environmental or sentimental reasons.

However, MP notes that it would be the only advertising platform with true global reach. By MPs calculation, “If 60 seconds during the Super Bowl costs 6 million dollars to reach 200 million viewers, then an eyeball minute costs about a penny and a half. Even if the average person were to look at your image on the moon for a total of only 10 seconds a month, then that image would be worth 360 million dollars a year in raw advertising value.”

RBR/TVBR observation: We are not among those who are pleased that nothing is safe from being turned into a commercial message. We’re not so sure we want to see a fast food logo when we gaze up at the moon.
On top of that, on the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11, we’ve been hearing noise about a return manned trip to the moon – if the scientific community is able to persuade taxpayers to get back into the space business, this entire project could be grounded before it has a chance to launch.

One thing is for sure – this technology is not going to be taking a bite out of the advertising pie for many years.

But can you imagine what it would be like to be sitting out in your backyard, gazing at the full moon, and the CBS Eye or was gazing back at you or the NBC Peacock was strutting about the Sea of Tranquility?