|
Flogos Take Off
Lexington, Alabama—Signage has always been an important part of advertising, but it has taken on a whole new “foam.” Flogos, cloud-like objects made from foam that are shaped into logos, are now being used to get consumers’ attention.
This revolutionary type of foam was developed for NASA by SnowMasters, Inc., and is environmentally safe. It is made from 1 percent helium and 99 percent ambient air.
“The foam is so dry it has no moisture weight to it,” says Francisco Guerra, president of SnowMasters Inc. and the creator of Flogos (along with co-creator Brian Glover). The weightlessness of the foam allows it to float up into the sky, and this is where the advertising potential lies.
Guerra took his foam one step further by shaping it into logos. He takes a logo that is sent to him, enlarges it on a projector, and then cuts away the negative to leave the positive (or vice versa, depending on the design). Guerra then takes the stencil he has created and pushes his foam through it to form a Flogo—a floating logo.
Not all logos can be made into Flogos. Microsoft’s logo, for example, cannot become a Flogo because Guerra is unable to make the wavy curve that characterizes its symbol. However, McDonald’s, Nike, and all car dealerships can easily be converted into Flogos. “Most recognizable images work well,” says Guerra, who emphasizes that more logos than not are able to become Flogos.
These Flogos have not only taken off into the sky, but into advertising agencies as well. “We get 28,000 emails a week,” says Guerra. “Every single mass advertiser in the country has come to me.”
Advertising agencies are currently bidding for the right to use Flogos next year, and Flogo machines have been set up in every major city. With all this exposure, don’t be surprised if you spot a floating logo the next time you look up—for advertising the sky is no longer the limit.
—Ashley Bray
|
