Loblaws late-night drone show in downtown Toronto sparks debate about ads in our skies - Toronto Star
In videos posted online, the advertisement could be seen from multiple vantage points downtown with several phrases urging viewers to ask a President's Choice app medical questions.
Images online showing the President’s Choice drone show promoting a new app over Fort York Historic Site downtown on Thursday night in downtown Toronto.
A large LED aerial drone display appeared over Toronto’s skies late Thursday night advertising Loblaws health services app, sparking heated discussion online about the use of airspace for promotional material.
Videos and photos posted online show a large-scale drone advertisement for President’s Choice Health that appears to have taken place as part of a “light show” above Fort York National Historic Site.
The advertisement could be seen from multiple vantage points downtown with several phrases urging viewers to ask the Loblaw-owned platform medical questions.
Images online showing the President’s Choice drone show promoting a new app over Fort York Historic Site downtown on Thursday night in downtown Toronto.
Some of the questions on display included “Can melatonin lose its effect? Is that third coffee keeping me up?” and “Do I really need 8 hours of sleep?”
The sleep-related questions are followed with a QR code.
Commenters in threads on Reddit and posts on X, where videos of the ads surfaced, criticized the company’s use of airspace, including a tweet that calls for this sort of advertising to be banned.
mages online showing the President’s Choice drone show promoting a new app over Fort York Historic Site downtown on Thursday night in downtown Toronto.
“The drone show was intentionally short and carefully considered to minimize brightness and disruption,” reads the retail company’s statement. “All appropriate permissions were obtained for the show, including airspace approval secured through NAV CANADA and ground space approval secured through Fort York.”
According to their website, Loblaw used the ad to launch their health app.
“Torontonians along the waterfront can look to the skyline at approximately 11 p.m. ET on September 10, as a series of health-related questions appear overhead during a 15-minute aerial display,” reads a release from Loblaw Companies Limited.
There are multiple reports of a giant advertisement made of drones in Toronto’s night sky. They seem to have been launched from Fort York. If these are real they need to be banned immediately.#topoli pic.twitter.com/7UAeeCN3hS
The advertisement appears to have been approved by the city, according to the Fort York landing page on the city’s website.
“Please be advised, the City has permitted for a light show activation with drones above Fort York National Historic Site on the evening of September 10,” reads an alert on the website for the historical site that commemorates the Battle of York during the War of 1812.
The city did not respond to questions about the ad.
Sheila Reid is a staff reporter with the Toronto Star. She can be reached at shreid@thestar.ca.
