One Times Square will be kicking-off Summer with two 200-foot-long humpback whales swimming up and down its new digital signage all day on Friday, May 31st ~ The Whales Ballet.
This comes on the heals of their inaugural video installation, META~Morphosis, which was on view during the month of May. The Whales Ballet will be on view for one-day only, the last day of May.
Directed by French artists Julien Nonnon and Romain Vollet of the famed Le3 Creative Studio, the ‘Whales Ballet’ will feature the graceful and poetic ‘dance’ of two humpback whales, engendering a peaceful, underwater ambiance in the bustling Crossroads of the World.
“With this video art installation, we want to celebrate the beauty of our big blue seas, because their future is our future,” said Julien Nonnon, one of the creators of the installation. “The activation is a nod to the whales’ return to the New York City coastline and meant to create a peaceful moment in contrast to the frenetic pace of the City.”
The sea life activation will mark the launch of One Time Square’s new, four-screen LED display, which extends nearly the full length of the 25-story building—a site central to New Year’s Eve traditions for the past 115 years.
The building’s owner, Jamestown, began the digital signage rebuild in January and tapped one of the country’s leading out-of-home advertising firms, New Tradition, to lease the signs earlier this spring.
“Their central location and incredible height give the signs the ability to do more than display content; they can take command of Times Square and create an experience,” said Evan Richheimer, CEO of New Tradition. “What better way to showcase that ability than by bringing underwater tranquility to one of the busiest locations in the world.”
As the master signage lease holder, New Tradition will seek leading brands to advertise on the property’s displays. The new 350-foot-tall digital signage features premium center-stage exposure with full motion video, live-streaming, and interactive capabilities. Options will include full takeovers of the iconic facade and the ability to “choreograph a show” across several signs for a new type of theater in the heart of Times Square.
As the centerpiece of Times Square, One Time Square is one of only two stand-alone buildings in the neighborhood offering clear, unobstructed sightlines from all points within the Times Square “bowtie,” an area which encompasses Broadway and Seventh Avenues from 43rd Street to 47th Street. With a daily pedestrian count of more than 350,000 and millions of earned impressions from film, TV, and social media, the property is one of the most visible and recognizable locations in the world, offering brands a global stage to engage with their audience.
One Times Square, also known as 1475 Broadway, was designed by Cyrus L.W. Eidlitz, and was originally built to serve as the headquarters of The New York Times in 1904. Eight years later, the paper moved, but the building was a Times Square focal point, known for the annual New Year’s Eve ball drop.
The Whales Ballet will be on view for one day only ~ Friday, May 31st, 2019 from 6am to 5pm, with a surprise display to follow, which will continue through midnight.