Editorials

It's an advertisement in the form of a cloud. Or, at least, it will be if what a north Alabama company wants to do catches on.

SnowMasters, a company that originally produced artificial snow, has taken a "secret" combination of "formulation and equipment" and created "Flogo," a fake cloud that can carry a company's identity high into the sky for all to see. The name, created by combining "flying" and "logo," promises to bring the company fame and fortune.

"It's a new form of advertising that's never been used before," said the company's owner.

This page has a long history of supporting entrepreneurship, which this surely is. Taking a combination of helium and oxygen, the folks at SnowMasters have figured out a way to produce fake clouds up to four feet long which can be molded into recognizable symbols of companies and corporations. These will be turned loose to float up into the sky and remind people on the ground of the things down here they should be consuming.

Although Flogos can fly up to 20,000 feet, most will be held down into the 300 to 500-foot range, so the logo can be plainly seen. Promoters note that they will "fly for miles" at about 20 to 30 mph, all the better to observe below. And if anything such as a building gets in their way, they will just bounce off. (There was no mention of birds or planes, but one supposes those competing for air space will simply have to move.)

As for the environmental impact, we are told that Flogos will eventually evaporate without a trace.

And of course, being fake clouds, they will be white — although coloring them in the future is not out of the question.

Already, Disney and Universal Studio theme parks have signed up.

Why aren't we surprised?

Advertising in the air is nothing new. Down on the coast, light planes fly back and forth pulling banners telling folks where to go for the best seafood buffet. However, these intrusions on the scene are of short duration and well regulated. The idea of looking up and seeing the logo of a company slowly drifting across the sky is a little unsettling.

Like billboards and other forms of public advertising, there must be some controls.

The sky belongs to everyone.

So it is in the interest of everyone that its uses be regulated.