May 21, 2010

Thornberg & Forester’s Mary Poppins Times Square Billboard

Thornberg & Forester designed and animated a motion billboard for Disney’s Mary Poppins Broadway musical, working with agency Serino Coyne. The simple yet bold design on 47th street and Broadway stands out among the maze of flashing lights in Times Square.

Chief Creative Office of Serino Coyne Sandy Block says, “In what is the most advertising-inundated location in the world, how better to evoke the larger-than-life magic of Disney’s MARY POPPINS than with the biggest sign you could possibly imagine: a 230-foot high by 80-foot wide, 12-screen, digital display with 15,000 square-feet of LED power. Now, put that in front of 100,000 visitors every day at the epicenter of the most popular New York City hub, and you’ve got yourself the perfect match-up of show and signage.”

Thornberg & Forester is no stranger to creating Times Square billboards, but the multi-panel format brought on new challenges. Creative Director and Partner of Thornberg & Forester Justin Meredith says, “In one respect you want to think of all the screens as one canvas but you need to find a balance between viewing it as a whole versus viewing parts of the billboard. For example, if you are standing at the TKTS booth on 46th street you have a completely different experience than standing on 41st street looking up Broadway. At the TKTS booth you only see two of the nine screens and this area was where most of the messaging needed to be directed.”

The end result is a dazzling display of 12 panels working simultaneously to entice Times Square visitors to see the Mary Poppins musical. Interested theatre-goers can watch the show at the New Amsterdam Theatre, starring Laura Michelle Kelly and Christian Borle.

Watch the billboard in action below: