When Entertainment Weekly rolls out the red carpet, Hollywood stars come out to play…and to see big-name acts perform. To celebrate this year's Must List issue, which declares what's "a must" for the summer, the party headed to Buddha-Bar, one of Manhattan's newest—and not so coincidentally, hottest—nightspots. EW's director of special events, Sheila Kelly, worked with event producers David Stark and Larry Abel to incorporate sponsors Garnier, PerfectMatch.com, and The Learning Channel into the event in an understated fashion while also keeping an Asian-theme decor scheme. "Our goal is always to find ways to brand an event in a way that is integrated into the venue," Stark said. "We never just hang a poster on the wall, and we don't want the branding to come across as crass commercialism."To avoid that, Stark added Asian details to each of the sponsor's mini-lounges located throughout the venue. A chalkboard-drawn pagoda housed the TLC lounge, where the network's tagline "What are your life lessons?" appeared on a chalkboard behind a brown leather couch. Guests took chalk from bowls placed atop chalkboard coffee tables to write their own lessons. (Was Stark utilizing chalkboard left over from the Robin Hood benefit earlier in the month? No, he said. "The materials were sent to us by TLC, and they wanted their lounge to be a replica of their promotional video.")
For Garnier, Stark created five flavors of fortune cookies to represent the brand's five shades of hair dye. Custom fortunes included "Ashe blondes have more fun." Cocktail waitresses clad in Asian mini-dresses passed out the boxes of hair dye throughout the evening. The PerfectMatch.com vignette featured an elevated platform with a Buddha statue sitting atop hundreds of red flowers, and in front of a heart made from thousands of flowers. "Basically we tweaked each installation to give them an Asian theme," Stark said.
In the venue's main room, Production Resources Group set up a 20- by 24-foot stage, where Christina Aguilera (who rarely performs at private events) let loose, singing numbers such as "Lady Marmalade" and her new single, "Ain't No Other Man." Stark created a neon Entertainment Weekly sign to hang on the wall behind the stage, and also placed hundreds of EW vinyl logos on glass throughout the space. Another event highlight: a live simulcast of celeb attendees dishing their life lessons on the red carpet aired on a plasma screen in the TLC lounge.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 06.28.06
Photos: WireImage
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For Garnier, Stark created five flavors of fortune cookies to represent the brand's five shades of hair dye. Custom fortunes included "Ashe blondes have more fun." Cocktail waitresses clad in Asian mini-dresses passed out the boxes of hair dye throughout the evening. The PerfectMatch.com vignette featured an elevated platform with a Buddha statue sitting atop hundreds of red flowers, and in front of a heart made from thousands of flowers. "Basically we tweaked each installation to give them an Asian theme," Stark said.
In the venue's main room, Production Resources Group set up a 20- by 24-foot stage, where Christina Aguilera (who rarely performs at private events) let loose, singing numbers such as "Lady Marmalade" and her new single, "Ain't No Other Man." Stark created a neon Entertainment Weekly sign to hang on the wall behind the stage, and also placed hundreds of EW vinyl logos on glass throughout the space. Another event highlight: a live simulcast of celeb attendees dishing their life lessons on the red carpet aired on a plasma screen in the TLC lounge.
—Courtney Thompson
Posted 06.28.06
Photos: WireImage
EW Party Offers Sweet Sponsorship Deals
EW Emmy Bash Is Branding Bonanza
EW Blowout Is All About Advertisers
Entertainment Weekly Waters Down the Roxy
Event producer David Stark lined Buddha Bar's sky-lit ceiling with red and white paper lanterns.
A chalkboard-drawn pagoda housed the TLC lounge. Guests were able to add their own lessons to the chalkboard coffee tables and backdrop.
Stark applied EW vinyl logos to glass throughout the venue, including the DJ booth, where Sky Nellor and DJ Vice performed.
Larry Abel created a green- and yellow-hued Garnier Lounge, patterned on Garnier's green and yellow bottles.
An elevated Buddha surrounded by red and pink flowers was the focal point of Perfectmatch.com's lounge.
Christina Aguilera performed at the Must List party atop a 20- by 24-foot stage created by Production Resources Group. The singer is currently promoting her new album "Back to Basics," and she performed her new single, "Ain't No Other Man."
