#MubaMovesPopUpReviews- Warby Parker’s 10th Birthday Celebration

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Living in New York City, there’s no shortage of fun, amazing things to do in your spare time. One of my favorite pastimes has been visiting branded pop ups scattered around this city. Almost every weekend (likely more now since spring/summer means I’m more willing to leave the house), I visit pop ups, take tons of photos, get freebies, and so much more. My friends watch my stories and always ask “How do you hear about these things?!”

Experiential marketing fascinates me. In a sense, it’s very meta. You’re creating offline experiences to get people to face up from their phones just  long enough for them to want to pull out their phones to take photos in order to share their experiences. Psychology is trippy. Working in marketing, when doing any campaign (whether traditional, experiential, influencer, etc), I think the most important question you always need to ask yourself is “Why?” Why should your consumer be interested? Every pop up or event I visit, that is always the biggest question that circles in my head.

With that, I decided that I wanted to resurface my blog. I haven’t posted since 2017 and most of my previous posts have been about random entertainment things. There was never any driving factor other than Melanie wants to talk about something so Melanie will write a blog post. But now… WE HAVE A PURPOSE! So let’s go for it!

NOTE: Because I didn’t have the idea to really delve into this until after the experience, I don’t have too many photos of details. I’ll make sure to do that in my next posts!

Brand Name/Title: Warby Parker’s 10th Birthday Celebration

Location: 130 Greene St. SoHo, NYC

Why?: “In honor of Warby Parker's 10th anniversary, we're throwing the ultimate 10-year-old-style birthday party in Soho on March 7th. Join us to celebrate with pizza, cotton candy, arcade games, skee-ball, a bounce house, prizes, and more.”

 
 

Appeal: 

With all of the fun things to do and eat, the event as a whole was extremely instagrammable. As you waited in line on Greene St., they took over the block with ping pong, corn hole, a pizza truck, a Warby Parker bus for voter registration, cotton candy, and popcorn. An extremely talented drumline helped keep the energy up while waiting. Once you were able to get inside, there was a signing wall, skeeball, snow cones, arcade games, a photo booth, Connect Four, and a bounce house. They also had illustrators (more on that a bit later) and grab-and-go treats from Milk Bar.  Overall, it was definitely a 10 year old’s dream party.

 
 


The Pros:

Obviously, the pros were the freebies and the experiences. Upon entering, the staff handed you a punch card. The bottom portion of the punch card tore off and worked as your ticket to grab a slice of pizza from the truck. The punch card (forgot to take a picture) noted that if you completed at least five of the activities (ping pong, arcade, skeeball, bounce house, Connect Four), you could trade it in for a raffle ticket for free WP branded merch. Other freebies were snacks like popcorn, cotton candy, snocones, cookies, and juice boxes. For an open to the public event, that is a lottttt of free swag to give away.

The Cons:

In my opinion, the big con was size of venue and organization. Because the event itself was very active I think everyone would have appreciated a much larger space to play around in. Think back to when you were 10 years old and hopped up on sugar and pizza at Chuck E. Cheese. Think back to your parents and what they did to deal with your energetic ass. Essentially they had to let you run amuck in the playroom so you’d get tired. Now, think of yourself as an adult trying to do that, but being sardined in a tiny room with other adults (oh, and actual 10 year old kids because it’s an all ages event). 

Because of the limited space, there were no clear lines for each of the experiences. You would wait behind someone only to realize that they weren’t lining up for anything and then you essentially wasted your time. It didn’t seem like the event staff knew much either because once inside, it was hard to determine who was working there. Some people were wearing Warby Parker shirts, most weren’t. Wearing glasses isn’t really a uniform and isn’t that helpful for me haha.

One other con I had was outside in line. When the drumline started performing, the original line that I had been in for 30 minutes ended up becoming a crowd huddle. Towards the end of the performance, the bandleader told everyone to come in closer to sing “Happy Birthday” to Warby Parker. At that moment, I went, “OH NOOO” because lo and behold, the original line I was in disappeared. There were no staff members who made any mention to stay in line and once the performance was over, the bum rush to the inside experience started. Luckily, I was able to find my place again in line to go in. But for other people who might not be privy to this kind of experience, I wouldn’t doubt that they would have been like a deer caught in headlights. 

Other things I noticed that would have improved the experience:

  • I think the street should have been fully blocked off for the duration of the event. With so much happening outside (pizza truck, corn hole, performances, etc.), it would have been much safer for all guests if cars were blocked from passing through the street. They blocked off the street during the drumline, but when they didn’t taxis and trucks had to make their way through the already tiny SoHo street.

  • I did not see a social media hashtag for the event. One of the biggest trackers for success for experiential marketing is user generated content. Many people, like myself, tagged @WarbyParker when I posted on my social media channels. But without a hashtag, it’s hard to see content specifically from the event. 

About that illustrator 😒 :

My biggest annoyance about the event was the illustrator. LIke at many kids parties of yesteryear, they hired artists tasked with drawing guests. They had two artists working at a time and they would rotate every hour. I waited in line for one of the artists and it seemed like his hour was about to come up. As I sat down in the chair, his relief came but she said “Do you want to do her drawing? She’s been waiting for you.” For me, I didn’t mind either way for either artist. So he said he could draw me. I sat down and asked him if I should look at him or smile or anything, and he just said look natural… and… well…. According to my best friend, she said I looked like Humpty Dumpty. And honestly, I’m mad salty about it because it’s true. I’m Melanie Dumpty with a lazy eye. 😭

 
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May this photo haunt your dreams as it will my roommates (because I posted it on our fridge.)

The Brilliance that is "Lizzie McGuire"...

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On January 12, 2001, Lizzie McGuire graced our screens for the first time. Its premise was simple. It was a show about a girl in junior high figuring out life with her two best friends. But little did we know what show we were going to get from that premise. What we expected was your usual 65-episode Disney Channel show. What we got was a star-making vehicle for Hilary Duff, a cross-marketing explosion, and a smart show that relied on many forms of audio and visual comedy, something that no other show marketed to kids really tried to do nor has attempted to do since.

What made Lizzie McGuire so great was its relatability to its audience. Lizzie wasn’t a pop star. She didn’t live in a hotel. She didn’t have psychic powers. She wasn’t a spy. (This is not to knock any of the other shows that emerged on Disney Channel with these premises.) She was a girl in 7th grade who just wanted to make it through to the next day, who just happened to have an animated inner voice who got to say what was really on her mind. She was kind-hearted, a little insecure, and a bit of a klutz.  She had her two best friends, Gordo and Miranda, her pesky little brother, and her well-meaning and supportive parents. She had to deal with crushes, homework, and the resident mean girl on campus, Kate. Young girls could see themselves in Lizzie and learn life lessons along with her as well as fawn over her awesome early 00s hair and wardrobe.

But how is watching Lizzie McGuire now as a young adult just as entertaining to me as it was back in the early 2000s? I’m all about watching shows for nostalgia purposes but a problem with watching old shows is that many of them lived within the bubble of their time period. Certain things that I thought were awesome then are entirely cringeworthy now. Lizzie McGuire isn’t exempt from cringe moments at all. However watching the show now, I definitely overlooked many nuances in the comedy of the show.

In retrospect, Lizzie McGuire should actually be watched as a live action comic book, similar to how Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) was to be watched as a live action video game. Animated Lizzie acts as the show’s thought bubbles. (Lizzie had a Bitmoji before Bitmoji was cool!) Sound effects can be seen as the show’s onomatopoeia- a well-timed “boing,” “drop,” or record scratch sound accentuated characters actions and feelings, whether they were for sarcasm, humor, or sadness. Incidental music was also a big part of the show. The sound effects helped build this heightened world even though the show was so deeply rooted in reality. In addition, the show’s soundtrack featured actual pop songs to help drive the plot. Many kids shows don’t use pop songs since they are expensive to get the rights for. This shows how much the show’s producers believed in the worth of the show as they were willing to pay for great tunes from the Backstreet Boys, Skee Lo, and the Jackson 5.

One of my favorite examples of the use of sound effects is in the episode “My Dinner with Dig.” In the episode, Lizzie invites her favorite substitute teacher, Mr. Dig, over for dinner. He hits it off with Lizzie’s dad Sam and they become fast friends, making Lizzie uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Matt’s teacher, Ms. Chapman seems to be in an eternal bad mood. Seeing how well his dad and Mr. Dig hit it off, Matt invites Ms. Chapman over in the hopes that she will make friends with his mom, Jo, and soften her attitude. The episode ends with the reveal that Mr. Dig and Ms. Chapman have known each other for a long time and are attracted to each other. It is inferred that they will begin dating and that Ms. Chapman’s sour mood is over.

When Mr. Dig and Ms. Chapman are reintroduced, we hear R&B vocalizing between a man and a woman and a saxophone reminiscent of “Careless Whisper.” As a child, you don’t really understand what this means. As an adult, we know that this 90s R&B cooing is meant to signify that these two are about to get it on. It’s a joke that couldn’t have been made without this clever use of audio.

As for visuals, Lizzie McGuire loved using flashbacks, snapshots, and dream sequences to help invite the audience to be a part of Lizzie’s world and into the heads of the characters. The show was influenced by the German thriller film Run Lola Run (1999) and its use of storyline and visuals- a very surprising film to inspire a children’s show. Handheld cameras and POV shots also added to the fun nature of show. The placement of the camera helped us identify with Lizzie- when she felt powerful, powerless, confused, etc.

Other than Lizzie, other supporting characters had their own chances to shine and given fully fleshed out personalities throughout the show’s 65 episode run and feature length movie. Lizzie’s parents were firm and loving, but never outright bumbling. They were always aware of what was going on in their children’s lives and had all the answers, but let their children learn them in their own way and time. Lizzie’s crush, Ethan Craft, is at first shown to be very air-headed but he also is very nice and skilled at sports. He also lets her down very gently when he tells her honestly that he only likes her as a friend and not romantically. The school geek, Larry Tudgeman, is at first shown as the stereotypical geek who only wears one shirt and plays D&D. But Lizzie learns that he is happy with what he likes Lizzie comes to admire his self-confidence. Kate, Lizzie’s nemesis and former child best friend, fluctuates between being kind and mean to Lizzie, but there are a few episodes in which the two of them truly connect and Kate’s insecurities are shown.

All in all, Lizzie McGuire was a show that was wise beyond its years. It showcased young girls and boys and all of their emotions. It showed kids that everyone had their own insecurities and interests that made them who they were. It used every aspect of its medium and didn’t rely on just dialogue to craft its storylines and jokes, something that many comedies these days are guilty of doing. It was a show that parents were happy to let their kids watch. It's a show that really is once in a lifetime. Should any new shows try to mimic the magic of this show, I wish them luck because it truly is a format that effective, fun, and doesn't attempt to sugarcoat its lessons to its target audience. So, here's to you Lizzie McGuire. Thanks for making my childhood amazing. May you always live on YouTube so that I can watch episodes for many years to come.

Photo and video clips courtesy of Disney/ABC Television