| EVENT REPORT 08.21.08 5:10 PM |
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| Queen of Diamonds |
| Under a 50-foot dome at the South Street Seaport, tennis star Maria Sharapova introduced the press and the public to her custom-designed Canon line. |
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Tennis star Maria Sharapova may be out of next week’s U.S. Open with an injury, but she was healthy enough to help launch Canon’s limited-edition line of cameras last night. Canon, Sharapova’s sponsor, debuted the diamond-studded collection she designed at a 50-foot silver dome in South Street Seaport, dubbed Canon Center Court.
Members of the press, contest winners from Z100, and Canon execs walked the red carpet into the dome, which was reminiscent of Disney’s Epcot Center. Inside, on an astroturf stage with white lines to mimic a tennis court, Sharapova introduced the Canon PowerShot Diamond Collection—five limited-edition cameras studded with 88 white diamonds each—and debuted her new Canon commercial, which will air next week. |
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PHOTO GALLERY |
 | The gray dome, with its large Canon logo on the front, took nearly 12 hours to build.
Photo: Stuart Ramson |
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 | Inside the dome, Obscura Digital projected images of the new camera and Sharapova.
Photo: Stuart Ramson |
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 | A table displayed several Canon PowerShot cameras along with their specs, in front of a blown-up ad featuring Sharapova.
Photo: Stuart Ramson |
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 | Canon also provided a photo-op area where guests could pose with Sharapova look-alikes.
Photo: Stuart Ramson |
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 | One area held computers where folks could enter a sweepstakes to win the limited-edition diamond-encrusted camera.
Photo: Stuart Ramson |
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 | Tennis ace Sharapova (and her doppelgangers) posed in front of the step-and-repeat at the South Street Seaport last night.
Photo: Stuart Ramson |
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After the reveal, Sharapova headed out to the red carpet, where she posed for photos and answered reporters’ questions—and attracted a steady stream of gawkers. Indoors, it was equal parts Canon and Sharapova. “We wanted to get across the idea of the joy of photography, but still tie it back to Maria,” said Michelle Fernandez, Canon’s senior manager for camera marketing. So they took advantage of the Obscura Digital-designed dome, projecting onto the curved roof images of nature, sports, and wildlife scenes as well as Sharapova.
Guests nibbled on passed hors d’oeuvres and drinks from Savor while checking out Canon’s five interactive stations manned by people in Canon logo-ed tennis whites who answered questions about the products. Each station was designed to show off the company's wares and its spokesperson, including one where consumers could test out the products, a section to play Wii Top Spin 3 against a digital Sharapova, and an area allowing guests to pose with Sharapova look-alikes. (Canon photo printers printed the images onto the back of a postcard that could be put in a press pass-style necklace decorated with tennis balls and a Canon logo.)
The hour-long event was in fact the press component of a much larger program targeting consumers with a place to play with the products—the dome was open to the public Wednesday during the day and will be open all day today. Placing the large structure at the seaport was a strategic move from Canon and Ion Marketing—the waterfront site attracts a high volume of foot traffic, and even during the building process, the silver dome drew attention from passersby. And to increase the buzz, two days prior to the event, street teams handed out branded wristbands and tickets to win prizes at the dome.
—Meryl Rothstein
RELATED TOPICS
Canon
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