Tennis star Maria Sharapova may be out of next week’s U.S. Open with an injury, but she was healthy enough to help launch Canon’s limited-edition line of cameras last night. Canon, Sharapova’s sponsor, debuted the diamond-studded collection she designed at a 50-foot silver dome in South Street Seaport, dubbed Canon Center Court.
Members of the press, contest winners from Z100, and Canon execs walked the red carpet into the dome, which was reminiscent of Disney’s Epcot Center. Inside, on an astroturf stage with white lines to mimic a tennis court, Sharapova introduced the Canon PowerShot Diamond Collection—five limited-edition cameras studded with 88 white diamonds each—and debuted her new Canon commercial, which will air next week.
After the reveal, Sharapova headed out to the red carpet, where she posed for photos and answered reporters’ questions—and attracted a steady stream of gawkers. Indoors, it was equal parts Canon and Sharapova. “We wanted to get across the idea of the joy of photography, but still tie it back to Maria,” said Michelle Fernandez, Canon’s senior manager for camera marketing. So they took advantage of the Obscura Digital-designed dome, projecting onto the curved roof images of nature, sports, and wildlife scenes as well as Sharapova.
Guests nibbled on passed hors d’oeuvres and drinks from Savor while checking out Canon’s five interactive stations manned by people in Canon logo-ed tennis whites who answered questions about the products. Each station was designed to show off the company's wares and its spokesperson, including one where consumers could test out the products, a section to play Wii Top Spin 3 against a digital Sharapova, and an area allowing guests to pose with Sharapova look-alikes. (Canon photo printers printed the images onto the back of a postcard that could be put in a press pass-style necklace decorated with tennis balls and a Canon logo.)
The hour-long event was in fact the press component of a much larger program targeting consumers with a place to play with the products—the dome was open to the public Wednesday during the day and will be open all day today. Placing the large structure at the seaport was a strategic move from Canon and Ion Marketing—the waterfront site attracts a high volume of foot traffic, and even during the building process, the silver dome drew attention from passersby. And to increase the buzz, two days prior to the event, street teams handed out branded wristbands and tickets to win prizes at the dome.
