Managing Systems
Times Square, New York
By Vivid writer: Ciprian Sava
Expat Romanian Ciprian Sava had looked forward to ringing in 2009 in Times Square, but now sees the experience in a colder, clearer light
Posted: 28/07/2009
Times Square, New York. The last day of the year. For many years I'd dreamt of ringing in the New Year, and last New Year's Eve saw that dream finally materialise. Of all the places a Romanian might hope to visit while in the United States, New York is always high on the list and Times Square is at the very heart of that ambition.
To the overwhelming approval of New Yorkers, parts of Times Square became closed to traffic on 25th May, 2009.
Actually I have been to New York many times now and seen Times Square, eating in the restaurants there, shopping, attending musicals on Broadway and going to movie theatres; enough to grow really tired of it, to the point when I just could not comprehend any longer as to why NYC would allow sausages and pretzels to be cooked right there, spreading the stench around for miles and why there is so much litter all around the place. Nonetheless there is something that makes Time Square really special and traveling destination for Americans as well as tourists from across the pond - the New Year's Eve Celebration, facilitated by the both the grandeur and size of this place. So this past December, when a couple of friends told me that they had always dreamt to spend the passing of the year in Times Square and they so fervently declined my almost free arrangement for a week's vacation in Miami instead, my wife and I finally decided to indulge and be at the spot where all the eyes of the world would be.
So picture this - it is December 31st, 2008, Manhattan; from around 17.00 local time, all access to Times Square was cut throughout a very, very wide area. It was minus 23 degrees Celsius; in this friendly weather, all four of us joined thousands of others wandering up and down the neighbouring streets trying to breach the police blockage and attend the famous party in Times Square. It is freezing like at the North Pole. You might think that all these streets, about 15 streets up or down and two deep would be simply jam-packed with people waiting for the big event and participating in the festive concerts. But no, all these streets are empty and guarded by heavy police forces. By 23.00 we had tired of these unsuccessful attempts to get in and decide to head back to the hotel. We then turn on the TV to watch the big event. On this occasion we learn that people who were really serious about participating in the event have actually started gathering in the public square early in the morning and then we see them … a couple hundred thousand people perfectly organized and wearing all blue and red hats. All the same. Guess what, the sea of blue hats - they are all Nivea hats, the biggest live ad I have ever seen. I still have no clue as to who were the red hats as I was too astonished by the sea of people who agreed to do the Nivea stunt and be all alike, all perfectly displayed like pawns on a chess board. This basically means that a minimum of 200 million American people would be prompted to the Nivea brand, either that night or in the coming days, let alone the hundreds of millions watching the event around the world.
But hey, this is not it. The big moment arrives and to my surprise, what we all get to see is the Clinton family hugging and respectfully wishing each other Happy New Year, a whole nation watching them. This lasted for about ten minutes. At this point I was eager to see all the big concerts the networks were advertising but at about 12.30, the police began evacuating Times Square. By 00.45 there was almost no one left in Times Square. No one.
I missed one detail - the fireworks. For all of you who get to spend New Year in Romania at least once, you know what I would expect to see. Then again, we have all seen the glamorous fireworks of Sydney or other major places and I have witnessed beautiful fireworks in Chicago above the lake for the 4th of July. So my expectations were high. In New York they lasted for about a minute, only enough to display a huge Toshiba ad, which was much more obvious and into everybody's face than the actual fireworks.
I have of course oversimplified - there were a couple of pre-midnight bad quality concerts by frostbitten artists and some very bad event management by an extremely vulgar comedian and a too serious TV anchor. (This is everybody's opinion, not just mine.)
I do take my hat off for a couple of things I experienced on this occasion. I have never seen an evacuation of this magnitude organised so perfectly. It took a whole day to get all these people in and then it took 30 minutes to have them all driven away. Americans cannot enjoy life for too long - they need to get back to work quickly I reckon. Second, if there is any place where marketing has reached a point of absolute craftsmanship - this is America and even more its heart, New York. The whole event was a marketing stunt and had absolutely nothing for anyone present. But to actually have all these people volunteer and be happy is the true force of marketing. And this is America in all its might. Bottom line: my lifetime dream to spend New Year's Eve in Times Square, New York left me with two great things: Toshiba and Nivea.
There is something else too. Like any other gullible tourist I always wanted to visit the most progressive art museum in New York, the Guggenheim. I heard so many good things about this museum. However, on 31st December, 80 per cent of the museum was dedicated to an outrageously grotesque photography exhibition displaying strong sexual and body mutilation content. Parents walked their youngsters down the aisles with bewildered looks on their faces. Most people spoke about the huge photograph displaying this fat naked man with a string of beads coming out of his rear end. This picture seems to somehow fit perfectly next to my other two memories from December 31st, in New York.
As for you, my friends in Romania, be careful what you wish for and treasure what you have today.
Ciprian Sava is Vice President of Ipsos Interactive services, in Chicago.
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