While traveling to Canada some years ago, I was struck by the absence of billboards along the roads. I guess it was against the law. Actually I missed them. Sure, too many can be obnoxious and an eyesore, but I found I rely on the information they present as I travel.

We all know what billboards are, huge signs supported by a structure mounted on some rented piece of property like a farmer’s field. The more traffic on the highway, the better. The billboard will hopefully grab the attention of passers by. But imagine this: the billboard flies off the stand and floats over a huge crowd of people who all look up and read it. That is not fanciful; it is the essence of advertising using an aerial billboard.

Though the size and message of an aerial billboard may be the same as that of roadside billboards, there are differences. The stationary roadside billboard hopes to be read by moving people; the moving aerial billboard will be read by stationary people. Also the roadside billboard will probably be read by a fraction of the travelers going by. The aerial billboard, on the other hand, will be read by virtually everyone in its viewing path. The roadside billboard may be viewed by thousands over a traveling season; an aerial billboard will be viewed by thousands in a matter of minutes.

The aerial billboard is not a banner though a streaming banner is sometimes dragged behind the billboard to give an additional message. Most aerial billboards are made of nylon. Some are dyed with a sun inhibitor for protection while others are painted. Aerial billboards could be as large as 50 feet tall and 100 feet long! The message they display may be the name of a product, a photo, a logo, or just about any message you see on a roadside billboard.

This huge billboard is supported in the front by a lead pole and weighted on the bottom so it stays upright. A bridle is attached to the lead pole and that attached to a 250 feet rope. The pilot gets airborne, then circles around and tries to hook a loop of rope attached to two poles. This loop is fastened to the tow rope. The hook is attached to the bottom of the plane. As the pilot passes over the banner and catches it, he immediately banks upward, causing the billboard to be pulled upward, away from the ground.

Though lightweight, the billboard is still a hefty drag for a small plane. At times winds will ground it, or keep them from being able to add the additional banner message at the end. When he is finished, the pilot gently drops the billboard at the designated place where it can be stored and used again.

The size and shape of the message trailing behind the plane is the only real difference between an aerial banner and an aerial billboard. Clients might include restaurants, products, special events, ordinary people with congratulatory messages, wedding proposals, directions, information like a web page where they can get further details, special sales, local businesses, movie promotions, and many others. Billboard messages include just about anything people want to get to the word out about.

The cost for billboard or aerial ads varies with companies and locations. Generally you should plan on 0 to 0 an hour for towing time and 00 and up for the billboard or banner. If that seems like a lot of money, consider the revenue that the message will bring in as a result of thousands of people seeing your aerial advertising message in a single day.