Is space the next frontier for Out of Home ads?
As Amazon’s Jeff Bezos prepares to catapult wife-to-be and her pals, including warbler Katy Perry, into space in advance of their wedding, alarm is being expressed by the UN’s Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), about potential uses of the stratosphere with some scientists fearing it could be the next frontier for Out of Home advertising.
Piero Benvenuti, a former general secretary of the International Astronomical Union, has urged delegates from 184 member nations to ban obtrusive space ads, warning that such displays could otherwise become “the ultimate light trespass” that would ruinously interfere with ground-based astronomy. (Nobody seems to pay attention to anything the UN says or does these days.)
“There is absolutely no reason why you should use space in such a useless way to advertise commercials,” Benvenuti says. The UN doesn’t regulate space launches, he owns, but it can help establish international norms to prevent any space-based advertising initiatives from gaining momentum. “Our goal on the diplomatic part is to keep the attention of everybody on the issue.”
Well best of luck with that Piero. Another space fan, with more rockets and satellites than Bezos, is X owner Elon Musk. Apparently it’s easy to shower space with ads from satellites. Not that Musk would necessarily stop at ads. He’s always keen to share his barmy opinions with all and sundry. Potentially there’s no escape.
