Sadly, the final evening of ad:tech San Francisco came to a close. A stellar yet bittersweet close, the evening began with a fabulous party put on by DoubleClick at the W Hotel during which Cirque du Soliel-style dancers contorted, twirled hula hoops, danced, mimed, posed, postured, walked on stilts and generally provided the audience with first class entertainment. Perhaps some of that Google money is already finding its way to DoubleClick’s coffers. We’re also quite pleased with DoubleClick’s recent re-branding which gives the company a refreshingly current look.
After downing an apple martini handed out to all in attendance and accepting a Macallan 10 from friend and DoubleClick Research Director Rick Bruner, the night quickly got off to a joyous start. As soon as I took the first sip of the McCallan, my pants started vibrating and it was fellow ad:tech blogger Ana Yoerg letting me know she, along with Adrants’ Angela Natividad and Marketing Experiment’s Mike Palmer would be arriving soon. While I waited for the crew to show up, I spent time speaking with AdFemme’s Lindsay Mure, beautiful strangers from the exhibit hall floor, Rick Bruner’s DoubleClick Co-workers and, yes, the famous Lindsey Frankenfield of ad:tech’s past.
After all the ad:tech wannabe partiers gave it their best shot to get into this invite only party, the crowds thinned enough to make social fluidity far more enjoyable than an ad:tech New York Crobar party. At the outset of the party, the hula hoop girl took the dance floor and performed all manner of contorted hula-isms which made one want to call in a chiropractor stat. Later in the evening, the floor filled with the full-on Cirque du Soliel-style dance troupe which kept the crowd so entranced, the line at the bars diminished to near none.
We also had the pleasure of running into the dude that wears the head cam 24/7 and a giant backpack to hold his streaming media equipment. It’s like a Truman Show for the digital age. OK, not really. Anyway, his name is Justin and he’s doing this for a month.
Following the DoubleClick extravaganza, our collective troupe of revelers headed to the last remaining party of ad:tech San Francisco 2007, the MediaWhiz-sponsored party at Dragon Bar which, I must say, had some supremely delectable treats upon which to chow. There, we spoke to Murray Newlands who’s a familiar face to many in ad:tech circles, the afore mentioned Lindsay Frankenfield, Jeremy Pepper, and a very familiar and attractive girl to whom we so apologize for not remembering her name.
As the end of the night approached, a certain sadness set in as we knew tomorrow would soon smack us on the face catapulting us from the sometimes surreal world of ad:tech to the rigors and realities of the real world. It was with that bit of emotion, we realized it’d be a while before we saw friendly faces again. For those who will go, the Miami ad:tech is just two months away, Chicago three and New York, seven. See you all soon. Out.
UPDATE: Check out the Flickr album of the event here. And there’s more coverage of the event over at Bub.liciou.Us.
