Errr...does anyone speak Klingon?
There are moments in history that take humanity and move it onto another plane of existence. An event that transcends traditional thinking and looks to expand who we are beyond time and space. Last month marked the 35-year anniversary of one such event.
In November humanity celebrated 35 years since the Arecibo message was sent from the Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico. This was a 1,679 digit message written in binary code that was sent once, towards a small, barely visible cluster of stars known as Messier 13 – some 25,000 light years away.
The message contained all the information another civilisation would need to know about humanity and the planet Earth. At first glance this would seem as if it was the greatest altruistic feat humanity had ever achieved – a letter to the stars, an olive branch of peace to our celestial brethren, a tweet into the twilight zone. The fact of the matter is, this was one of the greatest PR stunts, I think, we have ever seen.
This message was originally sent to mark the reopening of the world’s largest radio telescope in Puerto Rico and Messier 13 was picked as a destination as it was the only visible star cluster available at the time of the ceremony. More to the point, the fact that the message will take 25,000 Earth years to reach the stars means that Messier 13 may not exist by the time it arrives.
So why discuss this you may ask? The point of this whole post is a rallying cry – we need more Arecibo messages in PR. Where have all the big stunts gone? Where is Pepsi trying to project its logo onto the moon? Where is Budweiser trying to replace the Hudson River with beer for a day? Where is Swatch trying to reinvent time?
A PR stunt is an incredible thing. It evokes emotion, it transcends languages and cultures and it elevates brands to become not just names, but rather etches it into the pages of history. So any PRs reading this, let’s have another stunt, let’s expand our minds and our clients brands – and let’s have fun while we do it.
An imagination is a terrible thing to waste.
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