Cloud logos: credit www.flogos.net

We all enjoy the playful side of cloudspotting, using our imagination to see shapes like the face of Salvador Dali or A Pig With Six Legs.

However, soon our skies may feature Mickey Mouse ears and Coca-Cola symbols, thanks to the latest bright idea in advertising.

Two Hollywood special effects inventors are marketing a machine that can pump out 4ft foam clouds in the shape of company logos at the rate of one every 15 seconds.

Called Flogos (flying logos), they are made from soap bubbles filled with helium and can travel 30 miles at up to 20,000ft before evaporating, according to the product’s website.

Major brands like Disney and Apple are said to be interested but not everyone likes the idea of high-flying ads. CAS founder Gavin Pretor-Pinney told a Sunday newspaper: “I find the concept of someone sending up clouds in the shape of a Coca-Cola logo, or something like that, absolutely abhorrent.

“If you live in the city you are constantly bombarded by corporate messages. Clouds, with their formlessness, are the last wilderness you have to gaze upon. It would be a sad day if you gaze up and find that you had a company logo in the clouds.”

Flogo co-inventor Brian Glover is upset that his project has caused offence. “Mr (Francisco) Guerra and myself developed Flogos as a entertaining, visually pleasing display. These are very benign soap foam shapes, not roadside billboards.

“We see Flogos being used sparingly, at special events or parades. It will unlikely be a daily occurrence, polluting the sky everywhere.”