This innovative marketing strategy makes a certain level of notoriety surprisingly affordable.
With the debut of a website offering 15-second intervals of illuminated glory for less than $200, the opportunity to tower above Times Square is now within reach.
Beginning on Thursday, December 15 at 9:00 a.m. EST, anyone seeking ephemeral neon glory can reserve a photo to be displayed on the 55-foot-wide, 31-foot-tall billboard atop the Pelé Soccer store at 1560 Broadway between 46th and 47th streets.
When it comes to Times Square’s billboards, “no firm has ever dared to invade the personal domains of the people,” the project’s press release says.
Icon aspirants can reserve slots at TimesSquareBillboard.com by selecting a date, uploading a photo, and paying $150. The image will then appear on the sign for 15 seconds per hour for a total of 25 hours on the designated date. (After purchasing, customers will receive an email with their hourly slot time.)
Ideal customers include anyone who wants to wish their mother a happy birthday very loudly, lovers who want to propose in a grand manner, friends who want to congratulate friends on a new job, clown friends who want to surprise their friends “with that one photo from your trip,” and anyone who wants to “be famous for one day,” according to the release.
Jaime Suarez, a Miami-based attorney and CEO of Welcome To Times Square, is a lifelong New York City enthusiast who was inspired to create an accessible advertising opportunity after observing “the demise of countless small local companies due to the pandemic.”
The press materials state, “Think again if you believed that only large companies with massive advertising budgets could afford the theater district’s spotlight.”
»For $150, you can rent this massive Times Square billboard«