A bright, strange phenomenon appeared in the London night sky, but it wasn't a UFO or even a meteorite.
A local shared a video to the r/ABoringDystopia subreddit showing hundreds of drones equipped with purple lights swarming in the sky, ultimately forming a QR code. They noted it was a local advertising company's handiwork.
London advertising company using drones to push QR code
byu/thecuzzin inABoringDystopia
Business Insider reported the code brought people to the insurance company, Beazley. In an email to the outlet, Beazley said they used 400 drones for the show, which included other formations and was part of a company event at a space on the River Thames.
Though this ad was for a more intangible product like insurance, advertising for all sorts of products is pushing into more and more spaces, from sponsored social media posts to in-your-face ads in public spaces like transportation terminals.
Pervasive advertising pushes people to indulge in overconsumption of goods. Excessive buying contributes to pollution and strains on resources from both the production and shipping of items — many of which end up overcrowding landfills.
For example, it takes 20 trillion gallons of water a year to make clothing items for fast fashion brands like Shein, which produce hundreds and sometimes thousands of new styles every week, pushing shortened trend cycles. Consumers can fight back on the issue by practicing underconsumption, meaning buying only what you strictly need and reusing or repairing what you have.
When shopping, you can also opt to buy second-hand goods. More and more people are making incredible finds in thrift stores, like one shopper who found a high-end Le Creuset Dutch Oven for under $15.
People in the comments on the post were not happy with what could become a more frequent occurrence.
"The worst part is, I think it would have worked on me," admitted one commenter. "I would have just wanted to know what it was, and then close the tab and never think about them again. But I am a bit too curious to ignore it."
"The future of annoying," another wrote.
One person noted the potential for noise pollution, writing, "just a single drone on its own can be loud and annoying. imagine 200 of them!"
"So we all need increasing permits, regulations and rules to fly even the smallest drone on our own backyards, but advertisement companies are allowed to do this…?" questioned another person.
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