• by Kelly Samardak , November 10, 2008

Epic Advertising Ad:Tech NYC Bash, Marquee, New York
November 3, 2008

Hey hey everyone! It's another West Side Party Story with an advertwist for advertypes during ad:tech. Oh I know, just when you thought it was safe to go near Javits, the booth bunnies pull you back in! So what does an advernerd do after being pelted with squeezy balls, cookies, business cards, "oh by the way"s, leveraging, SEO, and, yes, even expo hall margaritas. Duh, they head to the Epic Advertising's "most exclusive ad:tech NYC party ever" to drink responsibly at the premium open bar and dance prudishly to songs by The Carpenters. Or exactly the opposite of that. The resulting hangover should be softened by the fact that a portion of the party proceeds went to the Thomas Blake Sr. Memorial Cancer Research Fund.

And hey, I don't mean to slight The Carpenters. When I was a youngin' I cried during that made-for-TV movie (was it on ABC?) when Karen Carpenter kicked the bucket. No one died at the Epic Advertising bash at Marquee but I imagine, judging from the consumption levels when I arrived around 10 p.m., that the next morning a few people felt like dying or perhaps a piece of them died a little as flashbacks of them wiggling against each other like human in context advertisements on the dance floor jumped and jiggled across their occipital lobes.

I had just left the slightly off "VIP Mix & Mingle" at 40/40 with high hopes and Joe Ciarallo, PRNewser editor and Horn Group social butterfly. The high hopes were pinned on one of my earlier experiences at Marquee that found gaggles of industry folks tearing up the floor, including the CEO. I walked up to the door and immediately into the bright eyes and smile of Cherilyn Earl, Marketing Manager at Epic. She was wielding the clipboard and ushered me and Joe in ahead of the pack. Score! We entered to find that less than two hours in, this party was kicking. Immediately I discovered the effervescent Jeff Litinowitz, a publisher from Florida. Are curly-haired people genetically livelier than the rest of us? If so, Jeff's right up there with the best of 'em. If the lights went out, his bar buddy Kevin Cowen of Epic could have located him by his smile.

A very welcoming Mike Sprouse, CMO Epic advertising, stepped away from the fray for a quick photo, followed by Don Mathis, CEO of Epic, who was warming the bar with Sara Fry and Emily Bouton. I snuck towards the scary circle of death, AKA the dance floor, to get some potential extortion material. Oh please, I'm kidding, stop typing that note to my Big Boss. The floor wasn't packed by any stretch of the seller's imagination, but the people on it had obviously taken full advantage of the premium open bar. Two moved as if in slow motion while others did their best "no one puts baby in a corner" dirty dancing impression. I'm talking arms up over the head, rear-end razzmatazz.

Cassidy Leggett, Thomas Devine and Robyn Bernstein actually pulled me away from my spot on the outskirts (usually people shy away, gotta love the willing volunteers) proving once again that the advertising industry is not shy and you know, if it ain't no thang, party on.

Sandwiches of what I can only assume were advertising professionals formed to the beats of Estelle (of course), Madonna, and the "this song is about US!" "Toxic" from trainwreck-turned-fragile comeback, Britney Spears. I felt like the only Sober Sally at Chauncey McCracken's 21st birthday party. Out of the right corner of my eye I saw that I was not the only one documenting the strange mating rituals of saturated adtechers. "Adrants Guy," as I know him, was snapping away. Joe Ciarallo was kind enough to point out, after a few moments of conversation: "Yeah, he has no idea who you are!" Fine by me, seriously.

While contemplating whether or not I really did care , I received a kamikaze hug from none other than Shawn Ames from Guerilla Marketing! "You probably don't even remember seeing me at the Facebook party during Advertising Week!" I poked fun at him. "Oh man, what did I say?" was his sheepish response. "Nothing to worry about, you were definitely having a good time, but very well-behaved."

It's not over yet! You and I will be all caught up after tomorrow's little piece about the Eyeblaster Awards and, coming later this week, The Pearl Awards and the delicious Rainbow Room.

Send invitations to kelly@mediapost.com and show off your dancing skills in Just An Online Minute!

See who was cutting a rug in the Flickr pictures!

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