Advertising’s obsession with outer space—which kicked into high gear following last summer’s congressional hearings on UFOs—continues with a Lexington, Kentucky, tourism effort inviting extra-terrestrials to visit the land of bourbon and horses.

Working with agency Cornett, tourism group VisitLEX has transmitted a signal to the Trappist-1 star system, located about 40 light-years from Earth, pitching Lexington as the perfect place for an interstallar trip.

As seen in the video below, the transmission—approved by the FAA—included samples of local culture along with a bitmap image to give the aliens an idea of what they can expect when they land their saucers in the Kentucky city.

“We believe Lexington is the best place on Earth. It’s the ideal location for extraterrestrial travelers to begin exploring our world,” said Mary Quinn Ramer, president of VisitLEX. “While other DMOs [destination marketing organizations] are looking to artificial intelligence as the future of travel, we’re thinking even further ahead and looking to deep space.”

Cornett assembled a team of experts for the campaign, including SETI (search for extraterrestrial intelligence) researcher Dr. Robert Lodder and linguistics expert Dr. Andrew Byrd.

The bitmap image, seen below, “is the key to it all,” said Byrd. “We included imagery representing the elements of life, our iconic Lexington rolling hills, and the molecular structure for water, bourbon, and even dopamine … because Lexington is fun!” 

“It was quite the team effort,” added Lodder. “We brought together experts in engineering, linguistics, digital media, philosophy, and science fiction to design, debate, and transmit this message.” 

The Lexington Visitors Center has preserved artifacts from the transmission event for future generations to appreciate.

The VisitLEX message was beamed into space in November, a few weeks before snack brand MoonPie—headquartered in neighboring Tennessee—unveiled its own alien-targeted campaign. The MoonPie effort included billboards written in Lincos, a language developed in the 1960s to talk to aliens. 

VisitLEX said it is eagerly awaiting a response from the E.T.’s, although they acknowledge it will likely be a while. It will take 40 years for the ad to reach its target, and at least 40 more to receive a response. 

Check back with us in early 2104 for an update.