--- title: "Huge Drone Swarm to Form Giant Advertisement Over NYC Skyline" description: "Someone apparently thought it was a great idea to fly 500 drones over NYC as part of an ad experiment without much warning." date: "2022-11-03" modified: "2022-11-03" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/drones-swarm-nyc-advertisement" categories: - "Drones" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "drone swarms" - "drones" - "new york city" - "the digest" --- # Huge Drone Swarm to Form Giant Advertisement Over NYC Skyline ![Someone apparently thought it was a great idea to fly 500 drones over NYC as part of an ad experiment without much warning.]() *\Image: NBA\* ## Droning On Someone thinks it's a great idea to fly 500 drones over New York City to create a huge ad in the sky on Thursday evening. Because New Yorkers certainly don't have any historical reason to mistrust unknown aircraft over their skyline, right? As [*Gothamist* reports](), the drone swarm is part of a "surreal takeover of New York City’s skyline" on behalf of — we shit you not — the mobile game Candy Crush. Fernanda Romano, Candy Crush's chief marketing officer, told *Gothamist* that the stunt will "turn the sky into the largest screen on the planet" using the small, light-up drones. Though this is not the first time the Manhattan skyline has been used as ad space — that distinction goes to the National Basketball Association and State Farm, which did a [similar stunt]() this summer during the NBA draft — local lawmakers are ticked off about it nonetheless. "I think it’s outrageous to be spoiling our city’s skyline for private profit," Brad Hoylman, a state senator that represents Manhattan's West Side in the NY Legislature, told the local news site. "It’s offensive to New Yorkers, to our local laws, to public safety, and to wildlife." ## Freak Out Indeed, as the NYC Audubon Society [noted in a tweet](), the Candy Crush crapshoot "could disrupt the flight patterns of thousands of birds flying through NYC, leading to collisions with buildings" as they migrate. Beyond the harm this will do to birds and the annoyance it will undoubtedly cause the famously-grumpy people of New York, this stunt is also going down with very little warning, considering that *Gothamist* is one of the only news outlets even reporting on it ahead of time. While most viewers will hopefully be able to figure out what's going on pretty quickly, the concept of seeing unknown aircraft above the skyline is a little too [reminiscent of 9/11]() for comfort — and if Candy Crush took that into consideration, they haven't let on. So here's hoping this event shocks and awes Thursday night city-goers in a good way, and not in the way that makes them panic. **More drone warfare:** [*Russia Accused of Pelting Ukraine Capital With "Kamikaze" Drones*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()