Gingerbread Express Elevator at Trump International Hotel & Tower Chicago
Visitors to Sixteen—the Michelin-rated restaurant on the 16th floor of Chicago’s Trump International Hotel—will get a festive ride up. For the holiday season, the hotel’s elevator has been transformed into the Gingerbread Express. Guarded by a 4-foot-high candy cane, the sweet-smelling activation is covered with real gingerbread, candy canes, and chocolate. Inside, an embedded TV showcases footage of a roaring fire; overhead, miniature trains pass through an active track.
Photo: Jeff Schear
UrbanDaddy’s All-White Party
To launch Stoli’s new line of "Most Original" vodka flavors, UrbanDaddy produced an all-white event Wednesday in New York. Guests painted on the wall and decor, gradually bringing color to the space. Framed canvases and a photo booth filled with guests’ drawings and messages were the most popular pieces of the night. As Cherub performed for the crowd, artists painted the black backdrop with white, glittery paint.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Mercedes-Benz B-Class Launch
Mercedes-Benz launched its B-Class vehicle in Toronto with an edgy, arty bash November 21 at The Sound Academy produced by the Mint Agency for Immersion Media. As part of the activation, a local street artist created seven original prints on 8- by 4-foot canvas live. Each print was given to a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Ontario after the event.
Photo: S25
L.A. Live Tree Lighting Festivities
On Wednesday, L.A. Live kicked off its holiday festivities with its fifth annual holiday tree lighting, which aired live on KNBC and AXS TV and included performances from Barry Manilow and others. The 66-foot artificial Sequoia tree, with more than 120,000 white LED lights, towered above the L.A. Kings Holiday Ice at L.A. Live, presented by Coca-Cola.
Photo: Matt Sayles/Invision/AP
Tech Holiday Bash
At TigerDirect.com and Intel's first Tech Holiday Bash November 20, a "floating" DJ booth moved up and down the four-story atrium of the Moore Building in Miami. DJ Supersede performed from the branded structure—a custom piece created by Raul Rodriguez of 2R Productions—that was suspended from a metal truss installed on the fourth floor. The Workshop Collective produced the event.
Photo: World Red Eye
Best Buddies Gala
On the field at Marlins Park, two distinct spaces—one for cocktails and one for dinner and a concert—made the large, open site feel more intimate for the the Best Buddies Miami gala November 16. V.I.P. guests lounged at the Diamond Club and toured the locker room before being escorted through the dugout tunnel leading into the reception space.
Photo: Laurence L. Levin/Best Buddies
J.C. Penney’s Holiday Giving Tour
To launch a national promotional tour for the holiday season, J.C. Penney brought singer-songwriter John Legend to New York’s Citi Pond at Bryant Park on Tuesday. On a small stage beside the skating rink, a square truss hung with red fabric was designed to look like a gift-wrapped present; the drapes dropped to reveal the entertainer and his piano just before the live performance.
Photo: Larry Busacca/Getty Images for J.C. Penney
Zellers Farewell Party
The bittersweet Zellers Farewell Party served as a thank-you to current and past employees as the retailer gets ready to shutter all its stores after 61 years of business. A massive, four-sided bar was covered in blown-up newspaper clippings from 1951, the Toronto company's opening year. Big-band music and servers dressed in period garb added to the nostalgic atmosphere.
Photo: Mauricio Calero
The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s 50th Anniversary Gala
The Nature Conservancy of Canada celebrated its 50th anniversary gala at a November 22 gala at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Toronto. To celebrate the group’s outdoorsy mission, planners lined the ballroom with living trees.
Photo: Tom Sandler
Target & Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection
On Thursday Target launched its holiday collection, a collaboration with Neiman Marcus to create a line of limited-edition products from 24 different designers, with the opening of a pop-up shop in Midtown Manhattan. As an eye-catching way to draw attention to the temporary store, the retailer placed a woman knitting an oversize scarf in the window.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Set inside Openhouse's gallery-like space, UrbanDaddy and Stoli's "white room" event put 350 guests in a white-on-white setting. To match the decor, Stoli models wore white and, in a nod to the vodka brand's logo, their look included red body paint and make up.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Playful decorative elements included a tub filled with white ping-pong balls as well as the goggles that guests could wear while painting.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
The event provided guests with paintbrushes and paint; the tools were scattered around the space on tabletops and other surfaces.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
The invitation instructed guests to wear all white, with the note that "protective gear" would be provided. At the event, guests could don white coats to prevent paint from splashing on their outfits.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
A red phone booth flown in from Canada was converted into a white photo booth that guests could decorate with paint. Inside, a digital camera taped to the wall and painted with the words "Press Me" invited guests to snap pics of themselves. The photos were sent to a laptop onsite and could later be viewed on UrbanDaddy's Web site.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Guests could paint their doodles inside framed canvases on the wall.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
UrbanDaddy installed an 8-foot-tall replica of a Stoli bottle at the entrance and used it as a surface for colorful projections.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
To add to the all-white theme of the night, Food in Motion served an all-white menu that included halibut ceviche.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
To launch Stoli's new line of "Most Original" vodka, the bar served cocktails made with the Salted Karamel, Chocolat Razberi, and Chocolat Kokonut flavors.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Guests created their own artwork at the spin-art booth where they dropped small amounts of paint onto a spinning paper.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
As the night progressed, splashes of color were introduced through projections on an installation of umbrellas.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
The night's live entertainment also included some interactive art, with the band Cherub performing while artists painted the black backdrop with white, glittery paint.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
On the stage's backdrop, colored projections added points of color, shapes that grew as the performance drew to an end.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
To match the decor toward the end of the event, servers passed brightly colored desserts, including red velvet cupcakes topped with multicolored icing.
Photo: Carolyn Curtis/BizBash
Best PR Stunt or Guerilla Marketing Campaign
Threshold Dollhouse Presented by Target
Submitted by Deutsch
Ad agency Deutsch worked with Target to build a two-story 1,540-square-foot dollhouse in New York’s Grand Central Terminal in 54 hours. For two days, about 19,000 visitors wandered through seven rooms furnished with more than 3,000 products from Target’s Threshold Home collection. The pop-up installation included spaces like a 40- by 20-foot patio with free Wi-Fi and a master bathroom that offered beauty touchups. Items marked with QR codes allowed consumers to instantly scan and purchase items.
Photo: Walid Azami
Event decor at the SAG Awards' official after-party was designed as a modern take on an old plaza in Havana, Cuba. The gala took place on the stage at the Shrine Auditorium.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Twenty-foot palm trees created a tropical vibe, and arches were painted to look like they were from the 1920s.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Cuban artist Kadir Lopez was commissioned for a 100-foot-wide mural, which was situated on a wall behind the bar. During the event, Lopez also created a live painting that he will donate to the SAG-AFTRA Foundation to be auctioned.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Lopez created additional art on display throughout the party, including in the entryway.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Additional murals punctuated a photo booth from sponsor L'Oréal Paris.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
Images by Lighting used candles and lanterns to create a warm, amber glow for the event. Dark woods and Oxblood banquettes completed the look.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
