March 21 2008. The first Moonvertising ad to be beamed direct onto the moon with a laser beam is upon us. Well almost. Coke tried to do it in 1999 (it’s true – more here) but were prevented from doing so because apparently the lasers needed were so powerful it would have atomised bypassing aircraft. A minor technical flaw. Undeterred, the people at Rolling Rock now want to have a go…
BREAKING RELATED NEWS 1.4.2008:
www.trustbanners.com
- Advertising banners that do the thinking for you..? (here)
Moonvertising explained:
http://www.moonvertising.com/home.asp
Yes, it’s another Rolling Rock spoof (I wondered if they were inspired by Coke’s failure?). Now I liked the Rolling Rock campaigns online (made by Goodby Silverstein and Partners. Anyone recall the Rolling Rock Ape?). The latest campaign features fake advertising exec Ron Stablehorn back with a plan to put his ads on the moon.
The Moonvertising website suffers from a few usability clangers around the user-gen content and the videos are painstakingly slow to load. However, there are some solid gags in here along with plenty of in-jokes for those in the marketing industry (a pdf of the ‘marketing’ preso available for download). But is the idea a little beyond the average consumer?
It will be interesting to see how this goes online. I love the overall idea of spoofing Moonvertising. So far there’s not a lot of digital noise on this but it got picked up on the BadAstronomy.com forums at least (here).
Surprisingly the Moonvertising video clips are not yet on the official Ron Stablehorn’s YouTube Channel. Hmmm perhaps they lost their login/pwd to their account. Update Mar 21 : Here’s a clip 
STILL UNSURE IF THIS IS REAL OT NOT? View the facts here:
http://amnesiablog.wordpress.com/2008/03/20/moonvertising-is-not-real-read-the-facts-here/
March 4, 2008 at 9:18 am |
Pretty awesome…I love how astronomers are talking about it, lol
March 5, 2008 at 12:02 am |
Advertising is the most important thing in the world and its various injokes are always, always hilarious to everyone. FACT!
March 5, 2008 at 5:44 am |
Isn’t there anything Sacred left?… Killing all the natural beauty we all love…
March 5, 2008 at 5:50 am |
I hear there paying $400 bucks for anyone to get a coca cola,google,Mc donalds, and Startbucks etc. Tattoo on there Arm
$1,000 if you get it on your forehead
go to walkingbillboards.com
… COMING SOON
March 5, 2008 at 11:38 pm |
Kudos @Bentos
Good feedback.
March 7, 2008 at 8:27 am |
I’m with Rudy, I don’t like the idea of it. I’ve blogged my reasons here
March 11, 2008 at 5:48 am |
This is ridiculous. If it works, it will be so sad. It the moon. I want to enjoy it as it is, not have to look at ads on it when I gaze up at the sky. What’s next, skyvertising (like on batman?)
March 11, 2008 at 4:29 pm |
Did anyone read in the copy …that this is a SPOOF?
It is not real…
“They” are taking the mickey.
March 12, 2008 at 2:43 am |
I agree with eunmac, it’s not real yet!
March 12, 2008 at 3:28 pm |
i do not want to live in a world destroyed by advertising. the idea of advertising on the moon is discusting
March 13, 2008 at 12:59 am |
Yes it is an awful idea but its just a spoof – note the FAA turned down a real request by Coke in 1999 because the laser required would have to be so powerful that aircraft wandering into the beam would have been vaporized! (Remember that the Moon’s surface is actually very dark. It reflects on 12% of light hitting it – about the same as asphalt!)
March 13, 2008 at 11:02 am |
I THINK TECHNOLOGY IS GOING A LITTLE TOO FAR. WHILE ITS KINDA COOL IN THEROY… WHATS NEXT? I MEAN COME ON REALLY. THIS ISNT METROPOLIS! BATMAN DOENST EXSIST… AND I WANNA BE ABLE TO LOOK AT THE MOON WITHOUT A BEER LOGO ON IT.
March 14, 2008 at 12:05 am |
[...] drove by the Boston Moonvertising billboard several times (it’s on my way to work) before I remembered to Google the term. I’ll [...]
March 15, 2008 at 7:49 am |
Hell no – is nothing sacred? What next, ads on sunset and sunrise?
March 15, 2008 at 8:42 pm |
If this were to be a real attempt it would be done during a new moon, not a full moon, that way the laser light being reflected back do not have to compete with all of the light from the Sun. And if somebody would make an honest attempt during a full moon not knowing it would be incredibly easier during a new moon they are idiots and they are going to kill themselves and probably others.
March 18, 2008 at 5:25 am |
First, the light will have to compete with sunlight to be reflected enough that you could see it from Earth at the full moon, and using a laser powerful enough to do so would, like Coke was told in ‘99 would vaporize airplanes.
Second, you wouldn’t be able to see it on the new moon either because the new moon is up during the day. That’s why solar eclipses only happen when the moon is new.
I wouldn’t worry about seeing any lunar billboards. Go ahead and enjoy the full moon as before.
March 19, 2008 at 4:24 am |
wait till the idiots figure this one out, next thing you know we will be seeing hand puppets…hey i have an idea
March 19, 2008 at 3:37 pm |
IS NOTHING SACRED? YOU PEOPLE NEED TO READ THE ARTICLE… THIS IS NOT HAPPENING… IT IS AN ONLINE ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN. NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON. SOME OF YOU KEEP MISSING THIS FACT…. SO I WILL REPEAT IT, NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.NOTHING WILL BE BROADCAST ONTO THE MOON.
THEY ARE JUST TRYING TO HYPE IT UP SO PEOPLE GOOGLE IT, JUST LIKE WE ALL DID AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT ROLLING ROCK…. DUH
March 20, 2008 at 10:44 am |
[...] as to what is going on and if it is real or not. Amnesiablog covered Moonvertising a few weeks ago (here) but obviously (having read the comments, see sample below) we probably need to clarify the facts [...]
March 20, 2008 at 1:02 pm |
Mikie-calm down.
we get it. its all for fun.
maybe its a way for us just to admire the moon while we drink beer-lots of it-so we can get dizzy and imagine it really happened. it will become a urban legend.
March 20, 2008 at 3:40 pm |
I might be the only one that is a little excited about the idea. I mean people in the 50s were promissed flying cars. It didn’t happen but you can’t deny that technology is growing very fast and becoming more and more a part of our every day lives. For example, I saw the billboard on the freeway and when I got home I pulled out my black berry from my pocket and looked it up and then wrote this reply. I bet everyone reading this has a cell phone and most likely a computer. So you have accepted this technology but not moonvertising, even though it won’t happen maybe at all? I wonder what people from 1950 would say if you told them that you can always talk to your love ones or they could annoy you at anytime by just the press of a button just about anywhere you are. Times are fast and new things comeout every day. So where the hell is the limit? I have to agree and say that the limit isn’t the moon, the sky is the limit. And last time I checked, the sky goes a lot further than the moon. Just my thoughts.
March 20, 2008 at 5:43 pm |
Merchants have been trying outrageous schemes to sell their products since products were for sale. People have complained about it for just as long. Ask yourself…”isnt there something else to be doing instead of complaining like babies?” I, for one, could care less. If you dont like A.B. then ignore them. If you like A.B. then enjoy.
You people make me sick…this is exactly whats wrong with America. Too many people think that the constitution somewhere states that they have a right NOT to be offended. Grow up you sissies and take it with a grain of salt…
March 21, 2008 at 2:38 am |
If you buy into this “Moonvertising,” you are an ASSHOLE!!!! Period, plainly and simply put, you are a disgusting human being. When someone says that “no one owns the moon,” they are the most dis-illumined of all beings. EVERYONE owns the moon. It belongs to the universal “us.” The moment that we first see an advert on the face of a beautiful full moon, this is the offical day that I become whole-heartedly sickened to be among this race of human beings. Someone really believes that people in Africa, or in Siberia, or in Greenland, or anywhere, for that matter, really wants to see a goddamn Rolling Rock symbol in the sky? Seriously, though, whoever thought of this is the largest steaming pile to have ever walked and I hope that they meet an unhappy end…soon.
March 21, 2008 at 6:24 pm |
ROFL
I don’t believe it, but you can’t tell me you will not take a skyward glance tomorrow night
March 22, 2008 at 5:54 am |
Everyone, take a deep breath drink a beer, maybe even a Rolling Rock, relax and enjoy the full moon. If you think there will be a Rolling Rock logo on it then you are a lune (pun intended)
March 22, 2008 at 9:29 am |
Some of you people need to take a friggin chill pill, I don’t think anyone really thinks that there is going to be anything advertised on the f-ing moon tonight, they just like to get you moon freaks all fired up……. Hail to Mother Moon and all her glory, now shut the “F” up and drink your Rolling Rock!*smile*
March 22, 2008 at 10:03 am |
UHHH….HELLO THIS IS REALLY REALLY REAL
March 22, 2008 at 10:04 am |
There is nothing on the moon! We just looked like fools! LMAO!
March 22, 2008 at 10:04 am |
Its a hoax
no laser has enough power to do this
the full moon is in 4-6 hours and i bet i will see nothing
March 22, 2008 at 10:28 am |
This possibly will happen soon. I have seen a billboard for this. How scary!
March 22, 2008 at 10:45 am |
wat the heck?!
way to ruin the night sky!!
is this for real?
doubt it.. seriously.
this is sooo stupid if its true.
the moon is perfect the way it is.
gosh.
=(
March 22, 2008 at 12:07 pm |
I don’t know what’s funnier, the RR gag or the morons posting on how this will ruin the moon and its natual beauty…
“it’s perfect the way it is”
“is nothing sacred? What next, ads on sunset and sunrise?”
“Its the moon. I want to enjoy it as it is, not have to look at ads on it when I gaze up at the sky. What’s next, skyvertising (like on batman?)”
March 22, 2008 at 1:02 pm |
YOU ARE ALL IDIOTS! THEY ALREADY DO MOONVERTISING! WHEN MY GIRLFRIEND BENDS OVER I SEE HER TRAMP STAMP WITH MY NAME ON IT!
March 22, 2008 at 1:58 pm |
I think the only way to see the rolling rock add on the moon is to look through a empty rolling rock bottle
March 22, 2008 at 3:39 pm |
Hey I think i just saw something green on the moon right now, some sort of logo,
it was very very weak, against the white surface, it was almost like ‘noise’
I think they must increase the power, they must ramp up the laser power from like 20 TeraWatts to like 100 TeraWatts. I feel they are trying to ramp up the power because all the lights of my house and my TV are getting a bit dimmer
March 23, 2008 at 1:21 pm |
Hey Great!
Would you please ask them to place the beam just a little to the left of centre and a hanguva curve, so that we in Southern Africa can see it too?
Should be of interest to SAB Miller. They might just be interested in getting to do what Coke could not.
March 23, 2008 at 2:17 pm |
I don’t like the concept of this. I’m an intelligent consumer, yet much of the humor is pretty much lost on me. Instead it gets me to think about the corporations in the world who, if they *could* do it, would in a heartbeat. The thought distresses me, so instead of feeling humor when I see the ad, I feel stress. Not something that sells beer to me.
March 25, 2008 at 12:24 am |
To the person that said this:
“MoonlyDreamer Says:
March 22, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Hey I think i just saw something green on the moon right now, some sort of logo,
it was very very weak, against the white surface, it was almost like ‘noise’
I think they must increase the power, they must ramp up the laser power from like 20 TeraWatts to like 100 TeraWatts. I feel they are trying to ramp up the power because all the lights of my house and my TV are getting a bit dimmer”
How stupid are you! Look at the time. 3:39 pm post. Are you fucking joking? Some people are just dumb not to mention it was suppose to have been done on March 21 at night you dumbass. This post is on the next day. You deserve a big flaming for that one. Moon ad’s will never happen. To produce a laser of that magnitude would burn right through the moon.
March 25, 2008 at 1:15 am |
actually you can OWN the moon. If you know anything about real estate you will already know that you own your land and everything above it… all the way into outter space. So technically if your home/land is lined up with the moon on a specific night… you will own a small parcel of land on the moon.
Look it up
March 25, 2008 at 1:16 am |
so basically if you adverstise on my plot… when my land is lined up with a parcel on the moon… Ill sue you. Companies should seriously look into the rule of real estate before fucking around with the moon. tee-hee!
March 26, 2008 at 7:06 am |
Hey everyone, it’s just a joke, not real!!!
March 26, 2008 at 5:22 pm |
HAHAHA, this is so funny. I love how everyone is just bashing on this… There are like 10 billboards around here in Sacramento about this stuff… Personally, I think its going to be so funny when a shit load of believers run outside next month to see if something really comes up… LMAO.
Also, I think it’s important to consider… the moon takes two days to get to in a space shuttle because the moon is so far away; you could fit 30 “Earths” between the moon and us! So imagine not only how powerful the beam would have to be, but how narrow it would have to be to clearly project something that far… funny, amusing, annoying, exciting, dull, and retarded all at once… good job getting people talking tho…
March 26, 2008 at 10:44 pm |
[...] Moonvertising. Yes, advertising on the moon. [...]
March 27, 2008 at 4:56 am |
So Coke has a laser thats so powerful its capable of vaporizing aircraft? And this was in ‘99? Wow i wonder if the military knows about this cuz i think that would be a wee bit of a national security concern if you ask me!
March 30, 2008 at 2:45 am |
IF THIS IS REAL, LET’S ALL OPPOSE MOONVERTISING! Start by BOYCOTTING ALL MOONVERTISED PRODUCTS! PASS IT ON AND TELL OTHERS TO MAKE THE STATEMENT: “BOYCOTT MOONVERTISED PRODUCTS-PASS IT ON!” POST THIS AGAIN AND AGAIN TO ANY YOUTUBE; GROUPLIST; BLOG; MYSPACE; USE EVERY INTERNET RESOURCE AND PUBLIC COMMUNICATIONS AND EVERYDAY CONVERSATION SOURCE POSSIBLE. Let’s use this as an experiment for future populist action! After this, THE SITUATION(or SituationIst-look it up) WILL CALL FOR THE RESPONSE!
March 30, 2008 at 8:24 am |
Putting ads on the moon is disgusting. If this is even really possible, that is. I don’t watch TV because I am sick of all the babbling and ads. I really do NOT want to see the natural world any more exploited than it already is. Rolling Rock ought to be ashamed of themselves, as should any other company which wishes to advertise on the moon. This is capitalism gone insane.
March 30, 2008 at 8:25 am |
In fact, boycott Rolling Rock and anyone else that wants to “moonvertise”. I am…
March 31, 2008 at 2:22 pm |
I thought moonvertising was bad enough and then I saw this is coming out…
http://www.trustbanners.com
April 2, 2008 at 8:01 pm |
F U C K R O L L I G R O C K
Scroll that you assholes
April 4, 2008 at 6:56 am |
can they put a picture of me up there?
April 4, 2008 at 2:40 pm |
Yup. they’re gonna burn the moon and create a lunar disaster.
April 7, 2008 at 11:43 am |
cool but in your video i notised you blow up the fake moon so what if you
blow up the real moon!
April 7, 2008 at 11:43 am |
This is great because it will support http://www.LunarLandOwner.com common goal to educate the world about the moon.
April 7, 2008 at 12:17 pm |
i hate advertising!
April 9, 2008 at 11:29 am |
this is pretty fuckin awsome peeps!my friend poopy is write! me too! but this is fuckin awsome! did i mention i am 20 seeking a male and he is gay !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
hell ya
asshole
April 19, 2008 at 9:47 am |
WHEN REAL MOONVERTISING BECOMES A REALITY, THAT’S WHEN I BECOME A TERRORIST AND WILL NOT BE DEFEATED IN DESTROYING YOU!
April 24, 2008 at 7:07 am |
omg. wow. this is kinda stupid. i mean really “moonvertising”??? come on! it’s the moon for crying out loud. leave it alone. i’d really rather see the full moon alone rather than big green printing on it. really ppl. leave it to billboards and stuff.
~*~Courtney~*~
April 29, 2008 at 3:56 am |
They have no right to contaminate a global resource with light pollution. How dare they tamper with the beauty of the moon. I hope that it’s either a spoof or that if they decide to carry through with it, they’re sued with the full legal force that can be brought upon them and that it brings an end to the company.
May 9, 2008 at 5:32 pm |
The lamentably late Arthur C. Clarke thought of it 50 years ago, as noted by his short story “Watch This Space”. Of course his method came by way of an instrument package tweaked by a paid saboteur before launch, where sodium vapor was volatized and ejected through a nozzle which pushing into the raw sunlight above a partial-phase moon resulted in a bright display of letter associated with “a soft drink that comes in a wasp-waisted bottle.”
The technical acumen for actually doing something would gratify me, but the actual asthetic probably would not. Nevermind the wilderness tribes that still exist in this world would start worshipped the Great Green Sky Horse or read it as a portent of doom and exterminate themselves. The reactions to such a stimulus are simply impossible to predict for an event of this scale, which is the primary social reason the concept will remain light fantasy. Makes for a fun conversation, however…
May 16, 2008 at 3:25 am |
I liked the idea better when Howard Stern came up with it.
July 30, 2008 at 1:52 am |
I think its perfect. But my opinion is still you need to think on your comment.
October 20, 2008 at 1:40 pm |
The reactions to such a stimulus are simply impossible to predict for an event of this scale, which is the primary social reason the concept will remain light fantasy
December 6, 2008 at 12:07 am |
man, I had this idea a long time ago. way before 99 even. i’ve been telling my wife for years that it’s surprising that no one has tried this yet. I think the only way it would be possible if the lasers were shot from some kind of spacecraft or probe orbiting the moon. It would be hard to figure what the atmosphere would do to the lasers. It does refract light coming down. Seems it would refract anything going out.
December 22, 2008 at 3:09 pm |
[...] moonvertising? anyone seen this? apparently on march 31, rolling rock is going to put their logo on the moon as an advertisement.. what is the world coming too? Moonvertising – your ad on the moon coming in 2008. Amnesia Blog [...]
January 29, 2009 at 8:58 pm |
[...] Rock ran a hilarious campaign on Moonvertsing (here) which although potentially controversial produced a great digital response. Again completely Fake [...]