Space.com Sets First TV Ad Campaign In Orbit

Outer space news and information site Space.com on Tuesday launched its first television advertising campaign — which positions the site as a place to find fun, excitement, and knowledge.

The campaign, created by Wolf Group New York, will begin airing this week, with supporting ads in print and online. The media plan reflects Space.com’s relationship with NBC, which took an equity stake in the firm in March. The deal called for NBC to trade advertising, promotion, and cash for a piece of the start-up.

The ads will appear on programs like the NBC Nightly News, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, The Late Night Show with Conan O’Brien, and Saturday Night Live. The spots will also air on NBC owned and operated television stations in Washington DC and the New York Metro area, and NBC cable stations nationally.

The first commercial shows astronauts dancing with joy on the surface of the moon, and ends with the message, “See How Much Fun Space Can Be.” The second, paints space travel as extremely uncomfortable — with a temperature of -250 degrees, an atmosphere of zero percent oxygen, and a spacesuit provided by the lowest bidder — and tells the audience that, “There is an Easier Way to Visit Space — Space.com.”

Print ads will appear in National Geographic, Popular Science, Discover, Sky & Telescope, The Washington Post, The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as several college newspapers.

Banner ads will run on several sites including Yahoo and About.com.