Toys Draw Boys
Lad mag Stuff invited 500 V.I.P.s to its Casino Weekend 3 event at the Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas with an invite that sent its male guests back to their childhoods. A Stuff-logoed toy plane inside a red, white, and blue star-spangled box arrived with party info splashed in a Nickelodeon-style font. Aric Webb, Stuff’s associate marketing publisher, conceived the idea after seeing a packaged toy plane at the airport. Robert Elliot, a designer at Dennis Publishing (Stuff ’s parent company), designed the invites, and I PromoWorks produced them. —Kiran Aditham
Eat the Invite
Chocolatier Michel Richart invited guests to a chocolate-and-wine-pairing event at the Carlyle Hotel with an invite that stimulated the senses. The event information was printed on a thin sheet of chocolate carefully packaged between padded layers of wax paper in an embossed white box. Beneath the layers was the event information on paper, with the words “In case you ‘ate’ your invitation...” —Suzanne Ito
Inflate for Details
Reebok’s Pump athletic shoes are back (remember those?), and to kick off their return, the footwear company sent out invitations to a press conference with the details printed on inflatable gray beach balls. A separate card read: “Don’t blow your chance. Pump up ball for more information.” Designed by Reebok, the invitation cards and address labels were printed by Reynolds-Dewalt, and Premiere Products produced the balls and envelopes. —S.I.
Customize Guests’ Gifts
To invite socialites to the Eluna bag launch, Escada director of special events Samantha Walker sent out clever invites that slyly gathered information to customize guests’ take-home gift. Designed by Naomi Usher of Studio Usher, the invite featured a perforated RSVP card attached to the inside asking guests to “Check off the color above that best expresses your style.” Guests left the event with an Eluna bag in their color choice. —S.I.
Guests Get Hammered
When Barbara Kavovit—the female home improvement guru known as Barbara K—launched her Women’s Entertainment
network show Savvy with a dinner in the Hamptons, graphic design firm 27 sent a bag with a hammer from her line of tools. A nail-pierced card offered the quip, “Please join Barbara K for a private dinner if you enjoy great food and getting hammered.” Who could resist? —Alesandra Dubin
Posted 02.09.05
This story originally appeared in the December 2004/January 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.
Lad mag Stuff invited 500 V.I.P.s to its Casino Weekend 3 event at the Palms Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas with an invite that sent its male guests back to their childhoods. A Stuff-logoed toy plane inside a red, white, and blue star-spangled box arrived with party info splashed in a Nickelodeon-style font. Aric Webb, Stuff’s associate marketing publisher, conceived the idea after seeing a packaged toy plane at the airport. Robert Elliot, a designer at Dennis Publishing (Stuff ’s parent company), designed the invites, and I PromoWorks produced them. —Kiran Aditham
Eat the Invite
Chocolatier Michel Richart invited guests to a chocolate-and-wine-pairing event at the Carlyle Hotel with an invite that stimulated the senses. The event information was printed on a thin sheet of chocolate carefully packaged between padded layers of wax paper in an embossed white box. Beneath the layers was the event information on paper, with the words “In case you ‘ate’ your invitation...” —Suzanne Ito
Inflate for Details
Reebok’s Pump athletic shoes are back (remember those?), and to kick off their return, the footwear company sent out invitations to a press conference with the details printed on inflatable gray beach balls. A separate card read: “Don’t blow your chance. Pump up ball for more information.” Designed by Reebok, the invitation cards and address labels were printed by Reynolds-Dewalt, and Premiere Products produced the balls and envelopes. —S.I.
Customize Guests’ Gifts
To invite socialites to the Eluna bag launch, Escada director of special events Samantha Walker sent out clever invites that slyly gathered information to customize guests’ take-home gift. Designed by Naomi Usher of Studio Usher, the invite featured a perforated RSVP card attached to the inside asking guests to “Check off the color above that best expresses your style.” Guests left the event with an Eluna bag in their color choice. —S.I.
Guests Get Hammered
When Barbara Kavovit—the female home improvement guru known as Barbara K—launched her Women’s Entertainment
network show Savvy with a dinner in the Hamptons, graphic design firm 27 sent a bag with a hammer from her line of tools. A nail-pierced card offered the quip, “Please join Barbara K for a private dinner if you enjoy great food and getting hammered.” Who could resist? —Alesandra Dubin
Posted 02.09.05
This story originally appeared in the December 2004/January 2005 issue of the BiZBash Event Style Reporter.