You might not know it, but catapults were originally invented to deliver ads across long distances. Only later was their usefulness for warfare discovered.
After the invention of the airship, catapults became obsolete for advertising. They continued to be used though in the trenches of World War I.
In modern times something similar happened with the atomic bomb, which was originally developed by the Mushroom Marketing Board to be a giant illuminated billboard in the sky. It was repurposed as a weapon after it was found to reduce, not increase, mushroom sales in neighborhoods where it was deployed.
Oh my goodness, I'm listening to a cover of Lola by The Kinks (that repeatedly says "La la la lo-Lola," in case you're not familiar with it) when I saw your comment and username! What a neat coincidence.
Is your username choice a reference to that song, by any chance?