The Brief: Karaoke Gondolas and AI Experience Centers

FIVE THINGS TO KNOW THIS WEEK

This week’s hot takes on hot topics in experiential cover the world’s first karaoke gondola, Tropicana’s splash at CES and Swifties duped by AI.

ORANGE YOU GLAD TROPICANA MADE IT TO CES?

We hit the ground in Vegas last week for the 56^th annual CES to hunt for fresh booth trends and design tactics. And amid the sea of endemic brands exhibiting AI-powered products and services was none other than Tropicana—and a decidedly anti-artificial intelligence strategy. Armed with limited-edition bottles of OJ featuring the “AI” dropped from its name (“Tropcn”), the brand showed up in Sin City and doled out free juice to celebrate its natural ingredients and underscore that its beverages have no artificial additives. Or as Tropicana put it: “Sure, we love STEM. But you love Tropicana because we care more about what comes off the stem—natural oranges, picked at the pinnacle of ripeness.”

The cheeky campaign also extends to the grocery store, with bottles of Tropcn hidden across participating Kroger locations nationwide. Those who find a bottle can scan the code and enter to win a trip to Florida, the “original orange juice state.”

TACO BELL IS COOKING UP A PRE-SUPER BOWL ‘CONFERENCE’

You never know what Taco Bell will pull from its experiential marketing playbook next. Case in point: A pre-Super Bowl event on Feb. 9 that will mimic standard b-to-b conferences and feature announcements about product launches and innovations rolling out over the next year. On stage at the “Live Más LIVE” experience in Las Vegas, expect to find music performances, celeb appearances and recognition of superfans from the brand’s loyalty program, who are also eligible to score front-row seats to the “fan-first” event.

SAMSUNG SHOOTS FOR THE STARS WITH GALAXY EXPERIENCE SPACES

Back in 2016, Samsung planted a flag in New York City with the establishment of its Samsung 837 experiential flagship location on Washington Street. Flash forward to 2024, and the brand is taking a cue from 837 with the opening of nine global “Galaxy Experience Spaces” that will launch on Jan. 17, timed to Samsung’s annual Unpacked event. The new locations promise to show how Galaxy AI (a “comprehensive mobile AI experience”) provides users with new ways to create, connect and play.

Visitors will have a chance to engage with the brand’s latest devices and explore how they amplify everyday activities in novel ways, like capturing and sharing content. In each region, attendees will experience different twists on Galaxy offerings like Nightography and Galaxy gaming.

The New York City Galaxy Experience Space will be open Jan. 17 through Feb. 16. with special, K-pop-themed events on offer, like K-pop dance classes every Monday, meet-and-greets with top K-pop icons every Saturday and Tribe Gaming tournaments on Sundays.

SWIFTIES GET BURNED BY A COOKWARE SCAM

Taylor Swift may “polish plates until they gleam and glisten,” but she doesn’t hawk Le Creuset cookware on her social media channels, as the latest AI deepfake ad suggests. In an ad originally published on Facebook and shared on other platforms, an AI-generated version of the singer appears to be giving away items from the premium brand to some “lucky” Swifties who were willing to click a button and answer a few questions, according to The New York Times.

In the ad, the faux Swift notes a “packaging error” that has allowed her to gift cookware sets to her most loyal fans, along with links to seemingly legit sites, like the Food Network. The scam isn’t the first of its kind, or the last, but experts warn that AI’s impersonation prowess is becoming remarkably accurate.

Swift hasn’t publicly commented on the hoax, but Le Creuset issued a statement saying that all of its promotional giveaways are executed through its own social accounts. What a (scary) time to be alive.

YOU CAN NOW BELT OUT ‘RICOLAAAAA’ FROM A KARAOKE GONDOLA

If you happen to be hitting the slopes in the Swiss Alps this winter, you’re invited to sing your heart out for a full 20 minutes aboard the Ricola Karaoke Gondola at a resort in Grindelwald, Switzerland. The experience is included in the price of the gondola ticket, and partakers have 30-plus different songs to choose from. Naturally, Ricola’s throat drops are also provided to ensure the singing never stops. Depending on whom you’re riding with, that may not be a good thing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Die Praktikantin (@die.praktikantintv)

BONUS CONTENT: DORITOS ‘TRIANGULATES’ A LAUNCH EVENT

We had to give a shout-out to the event teams behind the December launch event for Empirical x Doritos Nacho Cheese, a limited-time spirit that has supposedly captured the flavor of your favorite cheesy chip in a bottle. The launch, presented by Eater, welcomed 300 guests to a 74Wythe in Brooklyn, NY, where a glowing, signature-red Doritos triangle logo hanging from the awning greeted them.

Once inside, attendees sipped signature Doritos cocktails (the Double Triangle Margarita was a fan fave) and munched on elevated bites, all of which incorporated Doritos chips. Triangular displays comprised of neon and LED lights were installed throughout to guide participants through the custom cocktail tastings. A Doritos-themed photo booth added another brand touchpoint.

“Our approach to experiential is always to identify the goals of the event and to leverage the authority of our brands and established audiences to bolster the concept,” Tara Reilly, vp-experiential and partnerships at Vox Media, which owns Eater, told EM. “In this particular case, having a playful and sophisticated approach to the curated food and beverage served was paramount to ensure that Eater, Doritos and Empirical were well represented. Still, we really look at the whole experience from the environment to the music and the whole event—representing the brands well and creating brand affinity with a positive overall sentiment is ultimately our goal.”