Global soft drink company Pepsi was reportedly considering using space billboards to advertise its energy drink Adrenaline Rush in the night sky.
According to The Independent, Pepsi said its Russian subsidiary agreed to a partnership with StartRocket for and “exploratory test for stratosphere advertisements” to advertise the drink.
However, Pepsi confirmed it will not follow through with the idea, tweeting: “we have no further plans to test or commercially use this technology.”
We can confirm StartRocket performed an exploratory test for stratosphere advertisements using the Adrenaline GameChangers logo. This was a one-time event; we have no further plans to test or commercially use this technology at this time.
— Pepsi (@pepsi) April 16, 2019
StartRocket is a start-up that proposes to use micro-satellites to project brand logos into low-Earth orbits.
The company’s website says the “orbital display” media will reach a potential audience of seven billion people across the globe.
The idea has been slammed on social media, with some Twitter users declaring they will boycott Pepsi if the ad goes ahead.
One user wrote: “Horrible concept. I will boycott any brand that does it.”
In the comments section of The Independent article, one person wrote: “There is way too much intrusion in life from branding and advertising. This idea is high arrogance from a sugary drinks company.”
Another added: “Ban it now!”
According to StartRocket’s website, it costs $A280,000 to display the orbital advert for eight hours.
The technology is yet to be tested, with the start-up is seeking $A27.9 million to make it a reality.
