Trials in the sky

Advertisers may just have a new way to claim the sky for their brands.

Hot air ballooning in India? Despite Vijaypat Singhania's valiant skyrides, it is not a popular form of adventure tourism activity. Not that it doesn't happen.

There exist a few places here and there in Rajasthan, Delhi, Kerala and Assam that provide the opportunity, but ballooning is beginning to catch on only now.

Rajasthan is currently playing host to a hot air ballooning festival (from February 16 to 25), with the globally renowned ballooning expert Phil Dunnington down from the UK to supervise the event.

Says Dunnington, a world record holder for flying a balloon in 84 countries: "The preparations for this event began almost six months back, and we identified three locations in Rajasthan for the event."

The event is on at Jodhpur, Barmer and Jaipur, and has some 18 major participants from about 11 countries including Czech Republic, England, Poland, Mexico and Ireland.

Despite the high passenger expense (some $250 for a couple of hours up there), ballooning could easily balloon in India's popular imagination, feels Dunnington.

"Not only can it be used as a tourism activity, but also an effective promotional tool for several companies."

After all, the visual impact is beyond compare, and grants the image of an innovator (ask Goodyear, which build a tyre brand on zeppelins).

It's terrific value for money too, says Dunnington, compared with "an ad spot on TV during a popular show", and would cost advertisers about the same "" for a much longer ad life, given the two-hour duration of an average flight.

So, will hot air ballooning get the trials that Dunnington is looking for? It's still a little iffy, as the man himself admits. Any new experiment needs some patronage, and this may prove no exception.

"If the authorities back events like these and if they are successful, then there is no reason why ballooning cannot be popular in the country," says an optimistic Dunnington.