• by Kelly Samardak , November 6, 2009

Epic Advertising Heaven and Hell Party, Marquee, New York
November 4, 2009

After the comScore party, Gail Hilton of Thought Equity Motion and I headed to Marquee, a MUCH shorter walk from The Park than The Park was from good old Javits.  We took The Highline for part of the walk and for any naysayers out there (I'm talking to you, self), it's a completely different experience at night.   The vibe is mysterious and creepy with the potential for assault by crackhead lurking around every corner.  But man, walking on that elevated path surrounded by the stars and the glimmer of the city? It's like belonging and being removed at the same time. We descended the stairs at the end into hell -- or was it heaven?

Add lit-up devil horns to a party, and you're asking for trouble.  Scratch that, add anything that blinks rapidly to ANYTHING and you're asking for trouble.  And that is just what the crew over at EPIC Advertising did with their potion for motion-party-themed "Heaven and Hell."  A quick look around and the early guests told me that some people may have planned their outfits well in advance.  And judging by some of those attired, Marquee either provided ladies of the night, EPIC hired some scantily clad temps, or someone needs a good "professional dress" talking to, because some gals -- yeah, it was a couple steps back in gender equality in the workplace.  It worked for the suit posse, that's for sure.

The heavenly and hellish servers teetered around with trays of sparkling red bubbly (was that food coloring or sparkling pinot noir?), draped in white feathers or red horns.  Guests chose from a table laden with fussy ears and tails, silvery halos, and my choice for the evening, the battery-powered blinking horns.  Dave Ford of Branded Evolution chose the halo, but he wasn't fooling anyone.  He may have fooled Chase McMichael, Chairman and CTO of Unbound Technologies, who popped into our conversation, mistaking Ford for someone else. Due to my new "real person" sleep schedule and wake-up time, I was already feeling the call of my pillow at 9:30 p.m.

Damn Yankees put a damper on the evening a bit, with party-goers craning to watch the game more than angling to get drinks and dance like wild animals.  Speaking of wild animals (have you seen those bald bears yet?!), what's up with the wedding music at these things?  I've been noticing at parties like these that the first hour or so is all Motown hits and wedding-friendly jams.  I know the plan is to build up to awesome, but I would be worried about people calling lame and leaving before the awesome.  It's Marquee, might as well kick out the good jams early.

Despite the game, the party was pretty dude-heavy.  I think I left around 10:30 p.m to get some rest before starting it all over again. I woke up to a very disappointing email from Gail, who said I had just missed the trays of McDonald's hamburgers and cheeseburgers.  This happens every time I leave a party early, thinking nothing more is going to happen.  And for some reason, it's always McDonald's that I miss.  Weird.

It's almost over, folks - and the weather looks good this weekend.  Later today you'll be able to read about the eMedia Vitals launch party and I'm also trying to decide if I want to cover the Verizon/Yeah Yeah Yeah's party for this column or just enjoy it for life.  If this is the toughest decision I have to make today, I'd say life is pretty good.

You can see the angels and demons on Flickr! (more to come!)

Ben DeCamp was also photogging the event and his set is gritty and devilish.  I love his style .  Warning to all - his full site contains content that is NSFW. If you're sensitive to nudity when you're not at work, then it's also NSFL (not safe for life).