What is the last frontier? Is it space as some claim? Is it the oceans? For advertisers, it may well be the sky. It is like an immense surface on which to write a message for all to see. In a way, the sky is the last frontier in advertising. Aerial advertising makes great use of this resource by displaying banners or billboards that are pulled behind planes over large crowds at a beach, sporting event or the like. This way the message is read by a large number of people in a very short time.

A few years ago, aerial messages were mainly novelty announcements like birthday wishes and marriage proposals. Today they are largely advertisements like political ads, promotion of products or services, or announcements of special events coming up.

Besides airplanes pulling the ads, some are pulled by helicopters, while others are written on balloons or blimps to float over the audience. The very presence of such a message demands it be read whether the person below is interested in the information or not. It has proven to be an effective way to get a message across at a relatively low cost.

A more recent form of aerial advertising is night ads. These are lighted messages that can best be read once the sun goes down. One wonders if some of them might be reported as UFO's though a quick read of the message shows it is genuine and often helpful information.

We have all seen the signs on banks or motels where lights form words or numbers to display a message. Now imagine this display attached to the underside of an airplane and flown over a crowd of people at night. That is a night aerial ad. One company states the message is displayed on a 36 foot grid with letters 8 feet high, the grid containing 252 lights.

The moving eight feet tall letters are made of high intensity individual lights. Like the bank sign, the message can blink on and off, can scroll up or down, can travel right or left, and can sweep right or left. The words can even be made bold. A creative message will capture and keep the attention of the audience during the entire pass over them.

Though not yet in color, the night aerial ads have several advantages over daytime banner ads. First, the preparation of the message is simple. Just type the words or numbers into the computer. The message can be repeated or reworded for variety. Second, there is no need for dangerous low level flying to get the message into the air as with banners. Third, the message can be longer with more information since it is only displayed a little at a time. A disadvantage is that fewer people generally are outside at night to read the message.

Someone interested in this form of advertising should first work on wording their message. It is recommended that it not exceed 45 characters for this is the amount that can be scrolled across the plane during the 17 seconds of a pass. Of course, be sure all the information you want to convey is in those letters. Next, check the internet to see if a company that provides airplane banners is available to the audience you want to target. The effort and expensive will most likely pay off for writing in the sky, whether in daylight or dark, demands to be read.