FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK
This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential marketing cover drama-free mobile tours, beach club bronzing and Banana-Versaries.
CERAVE MAKES DERMATOLOGISTS THE STARS OF ITS LATEST TOUR
Promoting “skincare that’s drama free,” CeraVe is on the road with an immersive, “dermatologist-approved” mobile experience that launched at Hudson Yards in New York City last week. The Drama Free Cleansing Tour is anchored by a decked-out 32-foot stage trailer with marquee signage and interactive screens welcoming guests to the experience, a face-washing station, a photo booth, and a spinning product display wall.
Attendees can play an interactive “Soap POPera” game where they pop bubbles to win a prize, but the main event is one-on-one skin assessments with dermatologists who will be on-site at each stop throughout August, including Chicago, Nashville and Atlanta. The pop-up’s extended footprint features a larger-than-life CeraVe Hydrating Facial Cleanser bottle that dispenses bubbles and a photo-op bubble wall with a couch. The first stop in NYC was met by wrap-around lines of consumers eager to engage with the skincare brand. (Agencies: Youth Marketing Connection, Lime Media, Coyne PR)
CHIPS AHOY! GIVES FANS A CHANCE TO CREATE THEIR OWN ICE CREAM SANDWICHES
To help New Yorkers beat the heat (and the rain), Chips Ahoy! popped up in SoHo on Sunday with its Sweet Escapes activation. The cookie brand not only handed out free ice cream sandwiches from its branded Airstream, but encouraged participants to get creative by customizing their own sweet treats.
They could start with one of four ice cream flavors—vegan vanilla, chocolate, mint chocolate chip and sea salt caramel—and then choose toppings ranging from rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream to crushed cherries and peanuts. To finish off their creations, attendees could pick from three Chips Ahoy! cookies: original, chunky or chewy. Each ice cream sandwich was served in a cup with a spoon for mess-free enjoyment.
In partnership with the Secret Media Network, Sweet Escapes has been touring the country this summer, having recently stopped in Chicago and at UCLA, with secret recipes unique to the host cities. Cue Gwen Stefani’s “The Sweet Escape.” (Agency: Rose Gold Collective)
Photo credit: Matt Petit
MOËT HENNESSY USA’S ‘LA MAISON’ RETURNS TO TALES OF THE COCKTAIL IN NOLA
What started in 2002 as an annual walking tour of historic New Orleans cocktail bars has grown into a community-driven cocktail festival, welcoming spirits industry professionals, enthusiasts and brands from around the world. Among them, Moët Hennessy USA hosted “La Maison presents the Symphony of Spirits” at Latrobe’s on Royal, treating attendees to a cultural journey through the brand’s history.
The activation featured actors, dancers and musicians in themed scenes paired with handcrafted cocktails that represented the brand’s impact at various moments between 1900 and 2024. All six of Moët Hennessy’s spirits were highlighted—Hennessy, Belvedere, Glenmorangie, Ardbeg, Volcan and Woodinville—along with Moët & Chandon.
Attendees explored the venue’s rooms to learn about four of the brand’s most influential moments, beginning with a local general store in 1900s New Orleans that featured a shop attendant and a jazz musician; a Prohibition-era party with ballroom dancers and a live band; The Moët Hennessy Record Shop with a rock and roll listening station; and The World of Today, where DJ RQ Away amplified modern music playlists. Each of Moët Hennessy’s brands had immersive pop-ups, like a professional calligrapher who wrote out words attendees used to describe the brand’s enduring heritage. Cheers to that.
E.L.F. SKIN BRINGS THE AMALFI COAST TO BROOKLYN WITH A BEACH CLUB POP-UP
Getting that summer glow is one of the perks of a beach vacay. But if New Yorkers couldn’t make it across the pond for a European holiday, e.l.f. SKIN recreated the beachy vibes of the Italian Amalfi Coast in Brooklyn’s Domino Park last month. The destination-inspired Ame.l.f.i Coast Beach Club popped up in celebration of the brand’s viral Bronzing Drops and summer skin products, inviting consumers to drop by the beach club to bronze in lounge chairs under white-and-orange-striped umbrellas.
Additional touchpoints included plenty of sampling stations, vacation-themed photo moments (can’t get more signature than an e.l.f. SKIN-branded Vespa surrounded by lemon trees), and a Gelato Stand and Suntouchable Spritz Bar for Italian treats. Bronze appétit!
Photo credit: Steck Studios
DOLE FOOD COMPANY’S BOBBY BANANA ENTERS THE NATIONAL MASCOT HALL OF FAME
For the first time, the National Mascot Hall of Fame in Whiting, IN, has welcomed a non-sports mascot into its museum. Dole’s Bobby Banana, a 7-foot-tall walking Cavendish banana, is being honored with a special exhibition, “Bobby Banana: Dole’s Healthy-Living Icon for a Hungry World.”
The display, open through Sept. 30, is part of Dole’s 125th Banana-Versary, a yearlong celebration of the produce brand’s milestone. The move to welcome Bobby Banana into the museum opens the door to adding more corporate icons in 2025 to its college and professional mascots on display, as part of the National Mascot Hall of Fame’s “expanded commitment to telling the full mascot story,” Karen Anaszewicz, the museum’s executive director said in a statement.
