Cars can be tricky to stuff into a swag bag, so if a carmaker wants to appeal to a demographic that attends Hollywood events, it may have to take another road. Saturn chose the potent lure of a private Wyclef Jean concert to introduce its new hybrid SUV, the VUE Green Line, to 700 revelers from the worlds of entertainment, fashion, and design. The company also targeted skateboarders by positioning the event as a pre-party for the Olympics of extreme sports, X-Games 12, which it has sponsored for five years, and adding a fashion show by Hurley, Nike’s sportswear brand for surfers and skaters.“The involvement with the X-Games goes back to an active lifestyle and progressive mind-set,” said Saturn advertising manager Scott McLaren. “It’s an audience we resonate well with. Sponsorship of the X-Games is really more of a broadcast strategy. We thought that in the L.A. market, it would be good to get influencers aware of our hybrid strategy—hence the event.”
Jeffrey Best of Best Events transformed a parking lot behind the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard into a beachy setting. Half the space morphed into an outdoor lounge, with palm trees interspersed among velvety sectionals. Along the perimeter were filmy white cabanas, where flat-screens projected a steady stream of Saturn promotional images. Actual VUEs parked around the location illustrated how guests might find them handy for transporting surfboards and other sporting equipment.
At 9 PM, Phantom Planet—the band behind The OC’s theme song, of course—performed while waitstaff circulated with the sort of light fare savored by the athletically inclined. Half an hour later, male and female models broke through clouds of fog and colored light to arrive onstage in VUEs, so they could strut down the catwalk in Hurley gear. Wyclef began his set promptly at 10, adding a few riffs customized for the evening’s host: “My name is Wyclef / I flip the pattern / I came to represent / for Saturn.” But when his allotted hour was up, he broke rank, announcing, “I’m not good for a corporate gig,” and played on for the enthusiastic crowd.
—Irene Lacher
Photos: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Posted 08.24.06
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Jeffrey Best of Best Events transformed a parking lot behind the El Capitan Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard into a beachy setting. Half the space morphed into an outdoor lounge, with palm trees interspersed among velvety sectionals. Along the perimeter were filmy white cabanas, where flat-screens projected a steady stream of Saturn promotional images. Actual VUEs parked around the location illustrated how guests might find them handy for transporting surfboards and other sporting equipment.
At 9 PM, Phantom Planet—the band behind The OC’s theme song, of course—performed while waitstaff circulated with the sort of light fare savored by the athletically inclined. Half an hour later, male and female models broke through clouds of fog and colored light to arrive onstage in VUEs, so they could strut down the catwalk in Hurley gear. Wyclef began his set promptly at 10, adding a few riffs customized for the evening’s host: “My name is Wyclef / I flip the pattern / I came to represent / for Saturn.” But when his allotted hour was up, he broke rank, announcing, “I’m not good for a corporate gig,” and played on for the enthusiastic crowd.
—Irene Lacher
Photos: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Posted 08.24.06
Related Stories
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Playstation Launch Kicks Off L.A. Fashion Week
Related Story From New York
Cartier Party Gets Vintage and Modern Touches
Wyclef Jean performed for the crowd at Saturn’s X-Games pre-party.
Best Events produced the event with a runway decorated with Saturn logos.
Models strutted in a Hurley fashion show.
Phantom Planet also performed.
