California start-up Astrolab is offering to fly brands to the moon, giving them the chance to advertise and test their products on the lunar landscape. Astrolab, set up by a group of former Nasa and SpaceX engineers, has signed up with Elon Musk for transportation duties.
The project also involves Group of Humans, a creative platform whose team includes a former NASA astronaut and Kevin Godley, formerly of rock band 10CC and 80s pop duo Godley & Creme.
Rob Noble, Group of Humans’ founder, said: “Brands can really stand out as a result of putting themselves into this situation where there is no atmosphere and limited gravity. You’re exposing your products to all sorts of extremes that will help you learn while proving to consumers that it’s really strong.”
Astrolab’s Flex Rover is planning a mission for 2026, and the blurb insists that it “isn’t just a trip to the moon, it’s a leap forward for science, culture and civilisation itself.” The plan is for “responsible and iconic brands to help create a new frontier in communication, product innovation and ethos.”
Group of Humans are promising not to trash the moon, and have even issued a “lunar charter” that brands must sign, promising to “respect the universe’s natural resources” and “contribute to the education and inspiration of all.”
Noble added: “We’re on a mission to find the brands that have added to the human experience here on earth, organisations that we can trust to support the upward trajectory of life on the moon. We want to take the lessons we’ve learned from the damage done to our own planet and ensure this isn’t replicated as the exciting new lunar economy takes off.”
Noble leads the One Step Further program, which includes ad industry veterans like Sean Reynolds (former co-founder Iris Worldwide), Simon Waterfall RDI (former co-founder Deepend, Poke), Peter Drake (former creative director Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon), Adrian Rossi (former creative chair Grey London and ECD AMV BBDO), and strategist Raquel Chicourel (former CSO Grey London and M&C Saatchi).
