What if you could announce your product, service, or website to thousands of people at the same time, and most of them actually remember it! That is the dream come true for those who are willing to invest in aerial advertising services. How do you do that? A company or individual simply hires a firm to design and print the huge ad. Then a plane is hired to pull the ad over a populated outdoor event. Statistics show more than half of those present will remember the message of the banner.

Aerial advertising has proven effective just about anywhere an outside gathering of people may be found including during fairs, firework shows, concerts, ball games, rush hour traffic, parades, water shows, and races. Both national and local companies have used it to get more people to remember their company’s name. It has also been used to present birthday wishes and even as a way to propose!

There are basically three different types of messages offered by aerial advertising companies.  First, an aerial banner is a long streamers with a message such as, “Visit Loretta’s For Our Special Sale,” or “Happy Birthday, Bob!” These can reach 100 feet or more in length. A second and more popular message is the flying billboard. This could be as large as 4000 square feet and often has the same content as a roadside billboard would have. The message is brief, informative, and catchy. Some contain websites and if the domain is easy to remember, people can learn more about the product after they get home. Third, some combine these two with a billboard followed by a trailer (short banner) that gives more information. For instance, a business may put its name and logo on the billboard followed by their address on the trailer.

Low flying single engine planes over a populated area might cause some to wonder about the danger. The present Federal Aviation Regulations require operators of aerial advertising to avoid flying directly over stadiums, beaches and such like. A minimum separation of distance is required. This puts the aircraft parallel to the waterline on the offshore side of the beach or directly outside the perimeter of arenas, stadiums, and racetracks over land. Even with these limits, the ads are still quite visible.

Many companies wanting to get their message to the public quickly and for a minimum of cost have opted to try banner towing. Most of them are quite pleased with the result. After all, for those thirty or so seconds while the plane passes, their product is the only one the audience has to think about.