Airplanes began training banner advertisements in the early 1920s. Typically, these ads would promote a company’s grand opening, advertise a new product or service, or simply just spread brand awareness. Now, nearly one hundred years later, aerial messages are capturing the nation’s attention once again.
“AMERICA IS GREAT! TRUMP IS DISGUSTING,” read one of six messages flying the California skies on Friday, December 30.
According to CNN, the sky banners were flown over the 127th Rose Parade, which was being attended by nearly one million people. Each of the messages expressed anti-Trump, views including: “ANYBODY BUT TRUMP,” “IOWANS DUMP TRUMP,” and “TRUMP LOVES TO HATE.”
Stan Pate, a 57-year-old man from Tuscaloosa, AL, took credit for the airplane banners that were flown over the Rose Parade’s 5.5-mile route.
“The idea that you can hate your way to the presidency is disgusting to me,” said Pate. “I’m tired of hearing it, he’s in the way of us selecting the right person for the job. It’s time somebody stood toe to toe with him. I’m encouraging people across all of America to get involved and tell Donald Trump exactly who he is and what he is.”
Pate even carried around a contract proving that he was the one funding the anti-Trump campaign.
“Skywriting is a huge billboard and it grabs people’s attention,” Pate added, confident that his messages were a success. “There were probably a million people in the street. You can see this thing for 15 miles.”
Despite the fact that today’s digital world is inundated with flashy digital marketing, some advertisers might want to consider taking a page out of Pate’s book and going back to the basics. Perhaps because they are as different as could be from the advertisements that pop up on our mobile phones and laptops, skywriting and sky banners can be remarkably effective.
And in contrast to the anti-Trump slogans flown over the Rose Parade, the skywriting industry is partnering with the USPS to promote a positive message.
The U.S. Postal Service unveiled its new Love Skywriting Forever stamp, which will be replicated by a skilled skywriting pilot in early January.
The Love stamp has been around for 44 years, and haven’t decreased in popularity, thanks to their timeless appeal. Although some folks — those same ones who are busy poking at their smartphones, in all likelihood — have been predicting the death of the post office for years, the good old USPS isn’t going anywhere. In fact, in 2014, approximately 141 billion letters were mailed.
“These stamps have dressed up billions of birthday greetings, wedding invitations, birth announcements, and, of course, Valentine’s Day cards and letters,” said David Williams, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at the U.S. Postal Service. “From the moment they’re spotted on an envelope, these miniature works of art foretell good news. And with this particular stamp, we can really say, once and for all, that ‘love is in the air’ — and in the mail.”