Dive Brief:

• Bacardi Limited gin brand Bombay Sapphire unveiled a series of holiday window displays in New York City that were designed in collaboration with local creatives, the company said in a press release.
• As part of the effort, otherwise empty storefronts at 423 Broadway, 65 Spring St., and 25 Howard St. have been filled with "windows of art" created by visual artist Shavanté Royster, fashion designer Romeo Hunte and dancer Nicole Von Arx while bars in SoHo are serving holiday cocktails designed by the trio.
• The "Holiday Storefront Series," which runs through Dec. 19, is meant to help revitalize downtown Manhattan by supporting local creatives, retailers and bars.

Dive Insight:

Following a tough year and a half during which COVID-19 negatively impacted many of the creatives who populate downtown Manhattan, as well as forcing many local businesses to close, Bombay Sapphire is celebrating the area's creative spirit with holiday windows designed to drive foot traffic to retailers and bars while entertaining passersby in the fashion of 5th Avenue's famed holiday windows.

Bombay Sapphire's display comes on the heels of a similar effort by Amazon, which is exhibiting — until today — what it calls the world's first smart holiday window, also in the SoHo neighborhood of the Big Apple.

The window displays from both brands arrive as more people expect to shop in person this year compared to 2020's holiday season.

Romeo Hunte's dedicated window for Bombay Sapphire features people clad in bespoke designs getting ready for a holiday show over cocktails. A bottle-turned-spray-paint-can designed by Royster captures winter adventures with figures gliding through snowy peaks on snowboards and in hot air balloons in the sky. A gift pack that includes the spray paint can is available at ReserveBar.com and in select stores.

Creativity is a primary theme of Bombay Sapphire's gin, which the brand emphasized in its recent Sensory Auction through art mirroring the drink's qualities as well as consumers' emotional response to viewing the piece.

Such multisensory experiences allow brands to create atmospheres consistent with their products, offering the chance for more descriptive messaging with which to reach consumers. This holiday season's effort builds on the brand's "Stir creativity" campaign that launched in 2018.