| EVENT REPORT 04.20.05 12:00 AM |
PRINT | SEND TO A FRIEND |
|
| Turner Upfront Has Eagles, Natural Touches |
| For the cable broadcast company's annual sales pitch, a modern look featured natural elements, and guests were entertained by classic rockers the Eagles. |
|
| Turner Broadcasting wooed 1,400 advertisers with a parade of talent at an upfront event for the TBS and TNT cable networks at the Theater at Madison Square Garden. Guests ascended the theater’s escalators to find a vine-covered tunnel that led to the lobby, which was transformed into a modern-looking space and served as a starting point for cocktails before the presentations. |
|
CONTINUED > |
|
|
PHOTO GALLERY |
 | | Guests arriving at Turner Broadcasting’s TBS and TNT upfront presentations passed through a vine-covered tunnel towards the theater’s lobby space, which served as a cocktail area. A large wall installation of moss served as a focal point. |
|
|
 | | Avi Adler decorated curving bars with rows of horsetail. |
|
|
 | | Kyra Sedgwick talked to the audience of advertisers about her upcoming TNT show The Closer. |
|
|
 | | Giant LED curtains and TBS signage adorned the stage. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Laura Dames, senior vice president of marketing operations for TNT and TBS, put together the big show and party. Inside the vast space, the event's executive producers at Atomic Design sectioned off a large area of the theater with black curtains, creating a more intimate setting for the presentation of the networks’ shows to ad buyers. Event Resources kept the show moving along—managing talent and taking charge of technical production.
Mark Lazarus, president of Turner Entertainment Group, opened the presentation, and then execs from the networks introduced shows including Pauly Shore’s Minding the Store, and Courteney Cox Arquette and David Arquette’s vehicle for Brit Daisy Donovan, Daisy Does America, for TBS. To promote TNT’s dramatic shows, The Closer star Kyra Sedgwick took the stage, and thriller author Stephen King discussed his Nightmares and Dreamscapes series.
After the business pitches, the audience was rewarded with a 45-minute performance from the Eagles, who emerged via a huge revolving stage. Why the Eagles? For a large and often jaded crowd, Dames told us, the talent has to be big, and “the Eagles are relevant to a wide range of age groups.” The high prices for band’s recent shows at the Garden also added some cachet to seeing them for free.
Making over the lobby and ramp spaces at the theater, Avi Adler concocted a clean and modern look using natural materials—small groupings of sisal carpets, arrangements of S-shaped bars studded with rows of horsetail, and a large installation of clump moss framed with striped fabric on one wall. Tall, golden yellow floral arrangements embellished the entry to the venue’s escalators and the food stations upstairs. Madison Square Garden’s in-house caterer provided a menu of passed hors d’oeuvres with offerings like jerk chicken, duck and goat cheese quesadillas, and sushi prepared at bars in the cocktail area.
—Mark Mavrigian
Related Stories
Cartoon Net Party Has Campy Carnival
Upfront Has Fun, Games, and Live Bears
MORE EVENT REPORT STORIES
Hosiery Preview Styles Vignettes After Vargas Pinups
Continental Marks New Partnership and Aircraft With Dramatic Kabuki Drop
Health Initiative Rethinks Halloween With Woodland Scenery, Interactive Performances
Library Lions Takes a Page From Venue With Paper Decor
Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen Launch New J.C. Penney Collection With Mobile Store
MORE STORIES ABOUT
Floral Designer Anne Kilcullen Prides Herself on Interpreting Clients' Ideas
| More Suppliers/Venues to Consider |
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|
AMA New York Conference Center
Affordable meeting package rates in Midtown Manhattan, in the heart of Times Square's theater district. The AMA Center is perfect for business and training meetings for as many as 120 people. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
|
Cambridge Security Services Corp.
Cambridge Security Services provides highly trained, motivated security personnel for events around the United States. By working with several major companies, Cambridge is able to use their extensive national network of more than 3,500 police officers and 200 security companies to provide quality security services for a variety of events, ranging from concerts to warehouse sales, sporting events, Broadway shows, and trade shows. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
|
George Gee Swing Orchestra
Fun music for great parties! World-renowned bandleader George Gee brings three decades of expertise to your very special event, with the former house band of the legendary Rainbow Room and Merv Griffin’s Coconut Club at the Beverly Hills Hilton. More >>
EMAIL THIS RESOURCE |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
