NEW YORK—There’s no getting déjà vu here (IYKYK), because it’s not every day that a pop star uses a New York City subway station as a venue for their launch party. Olivia Rodrigo, however, partnered with the MTA to celebrate Sony Electronics’ release of its LinkBuds Fit and Open models at a former subway station on NYC’s Lower East Side.
The Bowery Street Station transformed into the “O Line”—a nod to Rodrigo’s hit “Obsessed”—on Dec. 3 and 4. Three subway cars “had all Olivia Rodrigo’s tracks from her album GUTS (spilled),” according to Jamie D’Attoma, executive vice president and partner at SHADOW, pointing to the “Butterfly Content Car outfitted with 3D purple butterflies.”
Olivia Rodrigo celebrated her partnership with Sony Electronics LinkBuds with a two-day event that transformed a retired subway station in Manhattan's Lower East Side into the "O Line."Photo: BFA for Sony/Hannah Turner-Harts
It all derived from Sony’s latest LinkBuds campaign with Rodrigo, which was filmed at the New York Transit Museum in conjunction with the MTA’s limited-edition Olivia Rodrigo MetroCard. Only 50,000 cards featuring Rodrigo wearing Sony LinkBuds in her favorite color, violet, were available through Oct. 28, 2024. However, SHADOW breathed new life into the campaign with the Bowery Station takeover. And to tap further into NYC culture, “we leaned into the iconic, gritty location, with exposed brick, mosaic tile art, and vintage directional station signage, all so synonymous with NYC,” D’Attoma said.
It started just before the subway turnstiles, where a merch stand and dimensional butterfly installation took over what was once a ticket counter kiosk. There was also an “Obsessed” subway tile mosaic display, D’Attoma said, adding that like true New Yorkers, SHADOW’s greatest challenge in decking out the O Line was keeping “furry creatures” at bay. “We strategically placed rodent-deterrent products throughout our activation footprint to discourage these critters from interacting with our event space!” D’Attoma dished.
Downstairs on the subway platform, DJ Beau Cruz and DJ Kharisma mixed Rodrigo’s most popular tracks, which were overlaid with a performance by local violinist Emily Simone. As the beats thumped through the subway tunnels—with the help of Sony ULT Tower 10 speakers, of course—guests could explore retired train cars, immersing them in Rodrigo’s LinkBuds partnership. 
Three retired subway train cars boasted different immersive moments. The Lounge Car, for example, offered tarot card readings.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
Because 21-year-old Rodrigo considers herself a '90s kid at heart, as she told Hot Ones host Sean Evans, SHADOW created a photo op moment within the Butterfly Content Car with “two wall-to-wall extending mirrors,” D’Attoma explained. An accompanying fish-eye lens to snap a selfie proved to be a fitting “1990s-style content capture,” he added.
In the adjacent Amazon Music Listening Car, Sony customers and invited influencers in attendance chose LinkBuds models from a kiosk and were invited to take a seat on a subway bench “to enjoy Olivia Rodrigo tracks pre-uploaded to Sony Walkman device,” D’Attoma said. It didn’t stop there: “Sketch artists were brought in to capture guests' reactions while demoing the LinkBuds, providing attendees with memorable take-home sketches of themselves.” 
Inspired by the sashes Rodrigo wears in the music video for “Obsessed,” guests received sashes that boasted relationship styles like “Miss On Again Off Again” based on their tarot card reading.Photo: BFA for Sony/Hannah Turner-Harts
The third subway car, dubbed the Lounge Car, boasted purple mood lighting and star-embedded flooring reminiscent of the aesthetic of the three-time Grammy Award winner's GUTS World Tour. Inspired by the sashes Rodrigo wears in the music video for the album’s single, “Obsessed,” tarot card readings gave each attendee a “relationship style” such as “Miss On Again Off Again” or “Miss Not You It’s Me.” “Sashes aligning with each guest’s reading were then gifted as another takeaway,” D’Attoma said.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at each of the pop-up's thoughtful touchpoints... 
Every element of the subway nodded to the LinkBuds x Olivia Rodrigo partnership—including the stop list, which replaced destinations with the track list for GUTS.Photo: BFA for Sony/Hannah Turner-Harts
An on-site merch stand inspired by old-school subway newsstands offered T-shirts, beanies, CDs, snacks, and more.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
DJ Beau Cruz and DJ Kharisma mixed Rodrigo’s most popular tracks, which were overlaid with a performance by local violinist Emily Simone.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
Sony customers and influencers were invited to the event, which took place Dec. 3 and 4.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
A preexisting ticket counter kiosk inside the retired subway station became part of a three-dimensional butterfly installation—a nod to Rodrigo's frequent use of the creature through her music and style.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
"Our activation footprint at the Bowery Station was an out-of-service station typically reserved for film and television shoots. The space has only hosted a couple of events and live activations and has been a bit of a secret (up until now), so we knew we had to jump at the opportunity to produce an event there," said SHADOW's Jamie D'Attoma.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
While attendees listened to Rodrigo's music with the help of LinkBuds and Sony Walkmans on the Amazon Music Listening Car, a sketch artist was on hand to capture their reactions.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
Even the signs typical of a NYC subway that display station names fit the event theme.Photo: Courtesy of SHADOW
