The initiative, developed by creative advertising agency Creative Orchestra, uses GPS technology to sync-up with users mobile phones.
Using electromagnetism, the birds are able to navigate the location of their targets, using new patented technology called BYRD, originally developed for use in the American military. BYRD disrupts the pigeons natural geometrics and allows the GPS technology to steer it towards any mobile device.
By using RFID chips, the target location can be identified by a dispatched pigeon with a special digital message carrier attached to its feet.
While the use of pigeons to carry commercial messages is a new concept, they have been used by the military for decades, both as message carriers and supply deliverers.
Pigeons recently featured in an investigative report out of Brazil, where gangs use the superfluous birds to smuggle items in and out of prisons.
Chris Arnold, creative partner of Creative Orchestra said: "We looked really closely at the successful applications and saw that we could tap into them commercially. You can imagine the surprise when people get a personal message from a friendly pigeon."
Creative Orchestra already has two major clients interested in trialling pigeon media and it plans to launch 1,000 birds from Trafalgar Square today to show the effectiveness of their targeted delivery messages.
Havil Folkhaurt, Creative Orchestra's media planner, said: "We see it as a more targeted form of outdoor advertising. We can deliver a message straight to the consumer for one tenth of that of posters.
"At first people will think it's just a novelty but soon they'll see the more serious value it offers. During the summer when most people are outdoors rather than inside with computers it's an ideal way to make an impact."
BYRD was originally developed by the American military for delivery of small explosive charges over enemy lines and as a means of sending important supplies to stranded troops
During World War II, the UK used about 250,000 messenger pigeons, even creating the Dickin Medal -- the highest possible decoration of valour for animals in combat -- which was awarded to 32 pigeons, including the United States Army Pigeon Service's Private Roebuck and the Irish pigeon Paddy.
The UK maintained the Air Ministry Pigeon Section in World War II and for a while thereafter. A Pigeon Policy Committee made decisions about the uses of pigeons.
The Head of the Pigeon Policy Committee, Lea Rayner, reported in 1945 that: "We can now train pigeons to hone on any object on the ground when air-released in the vicinity... Bacteria might be delivered accurately to a target by this means. With the latest developments of explosives and bacterial science I suggest that this possibility should be closely investigated and watched."
Comments
dano - 01/04/2009
april fools, all of you.
this has got to be the worst april fools ever! still quite funny though
I can't believe this has been done, such a clever idea to use all the pigeons out there, we sure have a lot of them!
Novel idea - how about tagging the excess grey squirrel population as well?
I saw we shoot the squirrels and once the pigeons have made their trip that should be it for them as well. A one time ad medium come pest extermination programme - win win win.
Fantastic April fools!!! you had me for a few seconds then!
Who wouldn't want a personal message from a friendly pidgeon? Perhaps they could shit on your car after it's been washed and deliver a sample of Triplewax?
Now, rats...they're within 8 ft of everyone, surely someone could do something other than train them to sniff out landmines? What a pleasant surprise seeing a rat appearing up the ubend with a toilet duck sponsored message...
I feel that these birds are being pigeon-holed as homing devices.
I'm a mere press buyer but I wondered if those clever bods in New Media could use this system in conjunction with Twitter? Happy April 1st everyone. Tony Potts - Acumen Partners
hahaha great idea you had me fooled for a second!!
yes i was fooled by teh headline and then WHAM .. realised what the fricking date was !
It has been on Getmemedia.com for the last 2 months BA are looking at sponsoring it........!!
I don't care if this is an April Fool's, if someone could make it work they'd be laughing all the way to the bank!
made us all laugh in the office - good one guys
@ Darren Davidson - you win for witty today sir !
Anything to help the uptake of RFID!
Of course we could sell sponsorship packages to a company like E-ON as well. So we'd have media PigE-ONs
I suppose they will be dressed in little pink pig outfits.
About as credible as this article.
Happy april 1st to all.
That's one bad pun. Are Pigeons related to Pigs? Brilliant April Fool, better than the BMW one. Other good one today was the Waitrose Pinanas ad \(a pineapple/banana mashup).
Directly targeting consumers. Brilliant. I wish this wasn't an April Fool, an idea with one thing better than legs...wings.
What a brilliant April Fool idea. And well done BR for running it. Unlike the Metro - these guys need to get a life, they just ran a story about April Fool gags. Must be edited by accountants. Reading the links above and it's hard to imagine that the rest isn't an April Fool too but my grandfather really did work with pigeons during the war. Alas his stories were very boring.So well done Creative Orchestra, living up to your name with a great creative idea.
Forgot to ask. After your mother's day gift \(anti-ageing cream) to Mother, what did they send you in return?
What a great April Fool idea. And well done BR for running it. Unlike the Metro - these guys need to lighten up, they just ran a story about April Fool gags. Must be edited by accountants. Reading the links above and it's hard to imagine that the rest isn't an April Fool too but my grandfather really did work with pigeons during the war. Alas his stories were very boring.So well done Creative Orchestra, living up to your name with a great creative idea.
Discovered something. If you try to edit a typo mistake it just repeats the piece again. Why can't you edit a comment, you can on the forums?
Hey people, not just an AFJ. Some inmates at a prison farm in Brasil have been caught smuggling in mobile phones strapped to carrier pigeons. Long live Speckled Jim!
MM - 02/04/2009
@ Darian Watts: actually, Metro did have an AFD story - it was about the S&M restaurant 'The Vault'. Putting it onto page three \(as they did last year) would have been too obvious, so fair play to them.
Uaaaa, buena idea, palomas mensajeras de la era digital, por fin alguien ha encontrado el gap entre las palomas de Robespierre y los e-mails.
No veo el día de abrirle la ventana a una de estas palomas. SIn SPAM pero!
Comments
dano - 01/04/2009
april fools, all of you.
Oliver Gandy - 01/04/2009
this has got to be the worst april fools ever! still quite funny though
Rick Sareen - 01/04/2009
Ho Ho, Good Tweet chaps.
Chris Paterson - 01/04/2009
shocking
Tom Langdon - 01/04/2009
Coooo-l idea!
sophie moss - 01/04/2009
I can't believe this has been done, such a clever idea to use all the pigeons out there, we sure have a lot of them!
Andy Knell - 01/04/2009
Novel idea - how about tagging the excess grey squirrel population as well?
Gordon Macmillan - 01/04/2009
I saw we shoot the squirrels and once the pigeons have made their trip that should be it for them as well. A one time ad medium come pest extermination programme - win win win.
Nes Sahinkaya - 01/04/2009
ha ha nice one BR!
Alice Thompson - 01/04/2009
Fantastic April fools!!! you had me for a few seconds then!
Jonathon Hall - 01/04/2009
Who wouldn't want a personal message from a friendly pidgeon? Perhaps they could shit on your car after it's been washed and deliver a sample of Triplewax? Now, rats...they're within 8 ft of everyone, surely someone could do something other than train them to sniff out landmines? What a pleasant surprise seeing a rat appearing up the ubend with a toilet duck sponsored message...
Charlie Smith - 01/04/2009
I feel that these birds are being pigeon-holed as homing devices.
Anthony Potts - 01/04/2009
I'm a mere press buyer but I wondered if those clever bods in New Media could use this system in conjunction with Twitter? Happy April 1st everyone. Tony Potts - Acumen Partners
Salika Mustafa - 01/04/2009
hahaha great idea you had me fooled for a second!!
AwallafaShagba - 01/04/2009
yes i was fooled by teh headline and then WHAM .. realised what the fricking date was !
Darren Davidson - 01/04/2009
it will never take off
Ian Benton - 01/04/2009
It has been on Getmemedia.com for the last 2 months BA are looking at sponsoring it........!!
Catherine Burkinshaw - 01/04/2009
I don't care if this is an April Fool's, if someone could make it work they'd be laughing all the way to the bank!
Kat Kashefi - 01/04/2009
Must be a joke!
Desiree Shahsavanpour - 01/04/2009
made us all laugh in the office - good one guys
Phil Hickes - 01/04/2009
ah you guys
AwallafaShagba - 01/04/2009
@ Darren Davidson - you win for witty today sir !
Tim Dunn - 01/04/2009
Anything to help the uptake of RFID!
Chris Arnold - 01/04/2009
Of course we could sell sponsorship packages to a company like E-ON as well. So we'd have media PigE-ONs
Micky Peterson - 01/04/2009
I suppose they will be dressed in little pink pig outfits. About as credible as this article. Happy april 1st to all.
Max Harrington - 01/04/2009
That's one bad pun. Are Pigeons related to Pigs? Brilliant April Fool, better than the BMW one. Other good one today was the Waitrose Pinanas ad \(a pineapple/banana mashup).
Joe Forster - 01/04/2009
Directly targeting consumers. Brilliant. I wish this wasn't an April Fool, an idea with one thing better than legs...wings.
Darian Watts - 02/04/2009
What a brilliant April Fool idea. And well done BR for running it. Unlike the Metro - these guys need to get a life, they just ran a story about April Fool gags. Must be edited by accountants. Reading the links above and it's hard to imagine that the rest isn't an April Fool too but my grandfather really did work with pigeons during the war. Alas his stories were very boring.So well done Creative Orchestra, living up to your name with a great creative idea.
Darian Watts - 02/04/2009
Forgot to ask. After your mother's day gift \(anti-ageing cream) to Mother, what did they send you in return?
Darian Watts - 02/04/2009
What a great April Fool idea. And well done BR for running it. Unlike the Metro - these guys need to lighten up, they just ran a story about April Fool gags. Must be edited by accountants. Reading the links above and it's hard to imagine that the rest isn't an April Fool too but my grandfather really did work with pigeons during the war. Alas his stories were very boring.So well done Creative Orchestra, living up to your name with a great creative idea.
Darian Watts - 02/04/2009
Discovered something. If you try to edit a typo mistake it just repeats the piece again. Why can't you edit a comment, you can on the forums?
Rollie Fingers - 02/04/2009
Hey people, not just an AFJ. Some inmates at a prison farm in Brasil have been caught smuggling in mobile phones strapped to carrier pigeons. Long live Speckled Jim!
MM - 02/04/2009
@ Darian Watts: actually, Metro did have an AFD story - it was about the S&M restaurant 'The Vault'. Putting it onto page three \(as they did last year) would have been too obvious, so fair play to them.
Manolo Recio - 02/04/2009
Uaaaa, buena idea, palomas mensajeras de la era digital, por fin alguien ha encontrado el gap entre las palomas de Robespierre y los e-mails. No veo el día de abrirle la ventana a una de estas palomas. SIn SPAM pero!