With so many events and promotions surrounding the first Super Bowl held in the New York/New Jersey region, the competition for attention was high. In addition to big-name musicians, professional football players—current and retired—and giveaways, marketers used striking decor elements to stand out, some referencing iconic New York City imagery, and others incorporating football-related visuals or finding quirky ways to integrate products and sponsors.
Here's a look at 15 design ideas from some of the Super Bowl's biggest bashes.
The logo of ESPN the Party, which illuminated the floor near the entrance, included a playful take on the New York subway system with "NYC" mimicking the colors and shapes used to identify the train's different lines. Maxim also used subway imagery on the custom T-shirts worn by staffers.
Photo: Line 8 Photography. All rights reserved.
With most of Super Bowl XLVIII's parties taking place in Manhattan, marketers looked to incorporate the city's iconic skyline in design of their events. In particular, ESPN's effort at Pier 36, designed by Event Eleven, featured 20 model skyscrapers illuminated from within. Drapes that mimicked a starlit sky added to the effect.
Photo: Robin Marchant/Getty Images for ESPN
Animal Planet also incorporated the New York City skyline into its activation, the Puppy Bowl Experience at Discovery Times Square Exposition. Projections above the images of Manhattan blended a starry night sky with tweets from guests.
Photo: Courtesy of Animal Planet
For Fox's Super Saturday Night blowout, which took place under a tent in Central Park, producers Angel City Designs created abstract New York apartment buildings to house entertainers. Neon lights in the shape of lightbulbs helped illuminate the two towers, which held dancers as well as an airbrush artist who painted a model wearing a ball gown.
Photo: Andre Maier
PepsiCo's PepCity pop-up at Bryant Park offered a more unusual take on the skyline with a mural made from Cheetos.
Photo: Courtesy of Invnt
Other brands also incorporated their products into the decor, including Bud Light, whose activation played host to concerts as well as Playboy's party. A chandelier was made using aluminum beer bottles.
Photo: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Playboy
Maxim's two-day Big Game Weekend event at Espace offered a more urban take on New York, with chain-link fences and walls marked with "Post No Bills" signs. As a nod to the thriving street-art scene, the backdrop for the stage resembled a graffiti-covered brick wall. The event was produced by Talent Resources Sports, with decor by Empire Entertainment.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
A more subtle nod to the city's many sights was the use of marquee lights. At DirecTV's bash at Pier 40, event producers CL22 Productions used the illuminated signs to customize the cavernous tent space.
Photo: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for DirecTV
The Friday-night fund-raiser for the Giving Back Fund also used marquee-style lighting to brand the stage for the live auction hosted by actor Alec Baldwin.
Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for the Giving Back Fund
At Playboy's Friday-night party at the Bud Light Hotel, an activation for the A&E series Bates Motel included a check-in desk and four plasma-screen "windows" that appeared to be blank. But when guests put on polarized sunglasses, they could catch a voyeuristic look into the motel rooms. Kadan Productions designed the activation.
Photo: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Playboy
To add football-theme elements to the Puppy Bowl Experience, Discovery Communications marked the entrance to its Times Square activation with an oversize inflatable helmet.
Photo: Courtesy of Discovery Communications
Nods to football—the players, the teams, and other thematic imagery—were common at many Super Bowl parties and promotions. At Maxim, Coors Light offered jersey-shaped koozies alongside bottles of its brew.
Photo: Anna Sekula/BizBash
Heineken used a closeup image of a football—in the brand's signature green hue—to wrap its photo booth at the Giving Back Fund's Big Game Big Give benefit.
Photo: Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images for The Giving Back Fund
With so many of the Super Bowl events taking place late at night, lighting became an important element. Fox's Saturday-night bash used more than 650 lights in its tent and on stage; the lights became part of the decor in the tiered lounges where clear stools complemented the colorful lights beneath the floor. Los Angeles-based Kinetic Lighting handled the event's lighting.
Photo: Andre Maier
To give the illusion of the rolling ocean, synced screens showed the sea and sky on a pirate ship set promoting the new Starz series Black Sails. The scene was part of the Time Warner Cable Studios pop-up, which ran the week before the Super Bowl and promoted shows from several networks.
Photo: Beth Kormanik/BizBash
