FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover vodka iced tea parties, AI fashion shows and Beverly Hills boomboxes.
HIGH NOON SAILS THE HIGH SEAS WITH THE BOSTON VODKA ICED TEA PARTY
Forget those Revolutionary War reenactments, and give us more of High Noon’s latest history-themed stunt. To launch its new iced tea canned cocktail, the brand set sail around Boston Harbor on an 18th Century ship last week and hosted the “Boston Vodka Iced Tea Party.” Only this time around, participants were encouraged to keep the beverage aboard.
Timed to National Iced Tea Month, High Noon’s activation included presenting Boston with 342 cases of its Vodka Iced Tea, the exact number of tea chests dumped into the harbor in 1773. Those aboard the ship sipped on the spirit and heeded the messaging on the vessel’s sails: “Boston, you won’t want to throw this tea overboard.” Nice. (Agency: Preacher)
NETFLIX IS BLASTING ’80S TUNES ACROSS THE UK
Netflix is pumping up the jams and the ’80s nostalgia across the UK with larger-than-life boombox installations designed to tout its film “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F,” which debuts July 3. A 50-foot retro boombox was planted in Edinburgh on June 22, in London from June 29-30 and will make its way to Manchester on July 6. The brand leveraged the oversized stereos to broadcast iconic music from the original 1984 “Beverly Hills Cop” film in a bid to create an emotional connection between the new movie and the ’80s hit. No disturbing the peace here. (Agency: Allied Global Marketing)
HER CONFERENCE MARKS A MILESTONE IN NYC
Her Campus, a Gen Z media brand, popped the bubbly on June 22 in honor of its 15th birthday and the 10th anniversary of its annual Her Conference event. The company gathered members of its Gen Z community in New York City from across hundreds of college campuses to connect with their peers and listen to empowering keynote speakers and panels from the likes of award-winning TV producers and world-class athletes.
Conference topics spanned civic engagement, AI, authentic brand values, relationship-building and beyond. There was also a “dream dorm lounge” installation, the InfluenceHer Collective Awards for content creators, sponsored by CVS, and guided meditation and goal-setting sessions. To boot, attendees could interact with some of their favorite brands, including Dove, Amazon, CVS, Lipton, Hallmark, Microsoft and The Honey Pot, who provided activations including a beauty touch-up bar, sweet treat shop and portrait studio.
Photo credit: Margarita Corporan; Erika Kapin
MOTOROLA FLAPS ITS BATWINGS FOR AI FASHION
There’s no denying that AI has a chokehold on the industry, and Motorola is one of the latest brands to demonstrate just how stylish the technology can be. To boost the launch of its new folding smartphones that are equipped with AI, the Razr 50 and Razr 50 Ultra, and its partnership with Pantone, the brand aimed to reiterate its commitment to fashion and innovation. Enter: Styled With Moto, a campaign four months in the making that was built solely with artificial intelligence.
The idea? To showcase how Motorola’s smartphones are not just cutting-edge devices, but also fashionable accessories. To that end, at the foundation of the campaign was a brand film featuring various models wearing outfits inspired by Motorola’s batwing logo, and created using AI via upscaling and animation tools. Even the film’s soundtrack was generated with AI, and incorporated the brand’s familiar “Hello Moto” jingle.
At a launch party for the film, 150 portraits of guests dressed in Motorola batwing outfits were displayed, accompanied by a real “Motorola Dress” designed in collaboration with creative textile studio, Scotomalab. The event was supported by an influencer campaign with two creators who posted videos showing outfits that match the different colors of the new Razr devices. And if that’s not enough spectacle for you, see how Motorola leaned on Cirque du Soleil to launch its Razr+ smartphone last year. (Agency: heaven)
THE LATEST ORGANIZATION TO MAKE HISTORY AT SPHERE? THE NHL.
Following HPE’s historic keynote at Sphere, the NHL stepped up to create a milestone of its own: hosting the first-ever live televised event for a major sports league at the coveted Las Vegas venue. To craft content for the world’s largest LED screen and dazzle a sell-out crowd of 14,220, the NHL collaborated with Sphere Studio to create custom graphics inside and outside of Sphere. And for the first time, the content being displayed inside the space was optimized for both live attendees and the TV audience. Meanwhile, live events taking place within the NHL Draft were incorporated into real-time content on the venue’s exterior. Oh, and did we mention that Sphere’s very own robot introduced each prospective player?
