The sky is not the limit; it is the opportunity for serious mass advertising. The success of banner ads and skywriting prove that. A banner ad is a streamer or billboard dragged behind an airplane over a large gathering of people. Skywriting, on the other hand, contains no printed material. The plane actually writes the message with smoke on the canvas of the sky.
Skywriting involves injecting a paraffin oil into the exhaust of the airplane. This causes a dense, white smoke to form. When it is turned on and off at the right times, this results in letters being formed and, from the ground, a message conveyed. The letters are a mile tall at times, and somewhere between 7000 to 17,000 feet in the air.
A unique form of skywriting is called, among other things, skytyping. Five or six planes fly in unison over the selected area. A computer on the lead plane decides when each plane is to make smoke and for how long. The result is a series of dashes in a straight line. When viewed from the ground, these dots or dashes of smoke together form parts of letters and eventually an entire word or sentence, much like the dots on a computer screen form a word or picture.
Each technique has its advantages and disadvantages. Sky typing allows the message to be made much quicker and thus can be longer and read in its entirely. A single plane skywriting takes 60 to 90 seconds to form one letter. The letters with skytyping are formed in a few seconds. This means the entire message is still visible when it is finished. A long message in skywriting might mean the first letters have drifted away by the time the message is completed. Also faster work means people don’t get bored waiting for a message to be completed.
Skywriting demands a skilled pilot who can maneuver a plane in every direction. He must also be somewhat of an artist to make the message uniform so it can be read. The skytyping pilots only need to fly in a straight line. The computer does all the deciding when to make the white smoke.
Skywriting is done with one or two planes and this means it is much cheaper than hiring five or six planes to make one message. Geico insurance has made skytyping famous as a fleet of planes forms their name with puffs of smoke against the sky.
Both methods have some advantages in common. First, the message is environmentally friendly. The paraffin smoke is harmless. Second, the preparation is simple. There is no need to print an expensive sign to be dragged behind a plane. The pilot just plans how to fly the letters of the message in his skywriting or programs the message into the computer for the skytyping. The message can be repeated or changed as the client desires.
Skywriting and typing have another advantage in common with aerial advertising. All use the canvas of the sky to present their offer to a large attentive audience without competition. The skywriting cost per new customer reached has proven to be well worth the expense.
