This week's roundup includes a dancing drone installation at Art Basel Miami Beach, Heineken and BAPE's pop-up store in New York, a Game of Thrones map replica at a season-seven fan event in New York, and Perrier's multi-color yarn installation at 29Rooms in Los Angeles.
Heineken and Japanese clothing brand A Bathing Ape (BAPE) celebrated their #Heineken100 collaboration—which pairs the international beer brand with a retail company to develop co-branded products—with a pop-up shop and restaurant that took over Japanese eatery Izakaya in New York’s East Village on December 12. For the first time, consumers could purchase products from the collection, which were sold at the temporary green, branded storefront. The activation was produced by Team Epiphany.
A dinner for influencers featured both Heineken- and BAPE-branded decor on the walls and menus, while beer bottles were used to decorate the tables.
HBO celebrated the DVD/Blu-ray release of Game of Thrones: The Complete Seventh Season with a fan event at AMC Loews 34th Street in New York on December 12 and 13. The event featured props, replicas, and activations inspired by the show, including a throne photo booth inspired by a main character from the series. Rubik Marketing produced the activations.
Another activation showcased a detailed map replica of Westeros, which is the setting of the series. Future season-seven fan events will take place at AMC River East 21 in Chicago January 5 and 6 and Regal LA Live Stadium in Los Angeles January 19 and 20.
The 16th edition of Art Basel Miami Beach took place December 7 to 10 at Miami Beach Convention Center, alongside satellite events that were part of Miami Art Week. The Faena District’s Franchise Freedom installation featured 300 synchronized drones “dancing” to classical music. The feat was organized by Amsterdam-based Studio Drift in partnership with BMW.
The Faena District also was home to the debut of Museum of Ice Cream Miami, the fourth location for the popular franchise. The pastel-painted funhouse’s localized design included a secret coconut sparkle mini room, the debut of its newest trademark treat Melted Ice Cream, and a site-specific rooftop game room and deck.
Essence and Toyota Camry held an experiential playground for consumers on December 9 at Villain in Brooklyn. The event, which celebrated Afrofuturism and brought to life aspects of the 2018 Toyota Camry campaign, featured an activation that allowed attendees to experience the new vehicle through a multi-sensory 360-degree audiovisual driving journey. The activation incorporated LightWave virtual-reality technology and analyzed real-time emotion data from guests to create personalized biometric data portraits.
The interactive "Boom" room provided drums anchored to the floor, which guests could pose with and contribute to the room's booming rhythm.
Refinery29 brought its 29Rooms experience to Los Angeles for the first time from December 7 to 10 at Row DTLA. The event, which kicked off again on Thursday and runs through Sunday, features installations by contemporary artists, brands, and celebrities, focused on the theme of “Turn It To Art,” which is about using creativity to drive positive change. Water brand Perrier and artist Hottea created a colorful installation made from 1,500 linear yards of yarn. Guests can immerse themselves in scented listening booths designed to inspire creativity. Each area is marked with a tongue-in-cheek phrase based on the flavor, such as “You’re one in a melon” and “I love your zest for life.”
Singer Demi Lovato’s installation is a black-and-white temporary tattoo parlor where guests can turn their personal journey and struggles into art. Five tattoo options, inspired by Lovato’s own tattoos, feature messages of courage and self-confidence.
