Race to Kentucky

Several big-name brands showed up in Louisville over the weekend to host events surrounding the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby. Dubbed the Run for the Roses, the horse race has become a breeding ground for tabloid-friendly celebrities—and where celebrities go, endorsement-seeking brands follow. (Ubiquitous types like The Hills' Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt, model Molly Sims, Entourage's Adrian Grenier, and former Miss USA Tara Conner were on the scene.)

"The Derby is one of our favorite events," said Hi-Fi Marketing Group partner Brian Gefter, who produced Friday's In Touch Weekly Parlor party with his partner Mike Satsky. "We do all of these parties around national event properties like Super Bowl, but the reason the Derby is appealing to us is that it’s very celebrity-driven but it’s less cluttered. There's a real chance to make a huge impact in an area where there aren’t as many events going on, as, say, the Super Bowl."

Playboy division vice president of creative services Donna Tavoso, who produced the Crown Royal Lounge on Friday night, said, "I think as more and more people realize that the Derby is a celebrity event and a great consumer event, they are drawn to the whole idea. It's not surprising that others want to throw a party [on the Friday night before the Derby]. That said, we know the level and quality of the party we throw, and we rest on that reputation."Anchoring the Friday parties was the 20th annual Barnstable Brown fund-raiser, hosted by Kentucky natives and twin sisters (and former Doublemint Gum twins) Patricia Barnstable Brown and Priscilla Barnstable. The party is known for flying in celebrity guests like Hugh Hefner and his Girls Next Door girlfriends and raising money for diabetes research. Louisville's Courier-Journal.com reported that the evening's theme was "Fantasia," which Barnstable Brown said "means musical extravaganza and fantasy." Grey Goose sponsored the event.

Following the early-to-bed fund-raiser (guests reportedly left around 11 p.m.) were two competing events hosted by Crown Royal and In Touch Weekly. Both parties reeled in roughly 1,000 guests—a mix of V.I.P.s, celebrities, and locals—and ran until 4 a.m.

Crown Royal's sixth annual fete, cohosted by Playboy for the third year, kicked off at 10 p.m. at the Mellwood Arts & Entertainment Center. Produced by US Concepts and Tavoso, the event bore a similar look to the brands' NBA All-Star party in New Orleans in February, matching white leather lounge furniture with neon lighting, fuzzy bunny pillows, and gobo-accented walls (bearing the Crown Royal and Playboy logos). Also on site were 12 Playboy bunnies and the barbershop vignette the brand used in New Orleans, where a barber tightened up guests' hairlines.

As to why Playboy joined the hosting bill back at the 2005 Derby, said Tavoso, "We wanted to build a party where there was a need. At that point, it seemed everyone was leaving [Barnstable Brown] saying, 'O.K., where do we go now?'"

Nearby at Felt in the 4th Street Live sector of town (dubbed by Gefter as Louisville's Times Square), Budweiser Select presented the In Touch Weekly Parlor, hosted by Nick and Drew Lachey, where 300 celebrities and V.I.P.s gathered in an area adjacent to some 700 locals. Hi-Fi Marketing Group produced the event for the second year in a row (though the event's title sponsor in 2007 was Pama Pomegranate Liqueur). "Last year we got a feel for the venue, the town, and the Derby, and we made a huge impact," Gefter said. "We knew it was somewhere we wanted to go back to."

Sponsors played a big role in the event, with red roses strewn throughout the venue and the step-and-repeat (a nod to the Derby's nickname) courtesy of ProFlowers, pomegranate cocktails from Pama, and Budweiser-logoed staging for DJ AM's three-hour performance. "Our sponsors get a lot of exposure here," Gefter said. "The Derby reels in a high-market consumer, which creates great brand awareness for our sponsors. Since it's more of a small-town atmosphere in Louisville, it's easier for the products to get in the hands of the V.I.P.s attending." Gift bags handed out to 250 guests at the Parlor included Mother's Day gift cards from ProFlowers, as well as Fiji water, In Touch issues, and swag from fashion boutique Chicdowntown.com.

Gefter's take on the Playboy versus In Touch matchup? "We're aware of competition, but we're never worried about it; in fact, we welcome it. I like to see a lot of different things going on—the more that goes on, the more attention the weekend gets. It's a win-win because, again, there wasn't too much cluttering up the weekend, so we didn't have to compete at the levels we do elsewhere."