Macy’s Parades Its Thanksgiving Stuff, Pandemic Or No Pandemic

Can you really call it a parade if the longest stretch anybody marches is the width of a TV camera lens?

Well, you can if you’re Macy’s M and you want somehow, some way to continue a tradition that’s been going on for 94 years and that your sponsors, your performers, your customers and — let’s not forget — your business depends on.

With pandemic conditions making the traditional parade scenario impossible Macy’s and its broadcast partner NBC created a hybrid event this morning: part live, part pre-recorded, a mélange of balloons, floats, marching bands, semi-celebrities and enough commercial plugs to promote seemingly every entertainment property in the country.

Come to think about it, in a bizarre way it really wasn’t much different than a typical parade broadcast.

Of course, missing were the millions of in-person spectators who normally line the parade route that stretches from the Upper West Side of Manhattan bordering Central Park down through Midtown and onto the main stage in front of the Macy’s flagship on Herald Square.

Instead most of the live action was shown on 34^th Street where the musical acts lip-synced, usually poorly, to recordings, situated on sponsored floats that usually had little if any relevance to the performers or the song. There were occasional cutaways to the theater district where songs from Broadway shows were performed by their casts. As the weather was noticeably different, these had all been recorded previously, a fact that the ever-genial Al Roker (feel better Al) dutifully reported. The actual live weather was warm — 61 degrees — with some occasional drizzle.

Some salient points of interest, highlights and otherwise:

• The broadcast opened with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon and the show band performing Dancing in the Streets, an appropriate enough choice given that we are doing practically everything outside in the streets these days.

• Then the parade was officially kicked off, as it has been the past few years, with Macy’s CEO Jeff Gennette speaking a few choice words of thanks and then cutting the opening ribbon. Normally, the reigning store president then takes his honored spot in the grandstands front and center of the performing space but this year those too were gone. Who can forget his silver-haired predecessor Terry Lundgren smiling and clapping in the stands for many years doing his finest Pierce Brosnan imitation?

• Macy’s also had its usual place as the first commercial of the broadcast, advertising its also usual boilerplate assortment of bargains and promotions. It has been astounding that while so many retailers are tailoring their ads for these times Macy’s seems to be stuck doing the same old thing. Even more incredulous, in the first few of its TV commercials, there is no mention whatsoever of its website or e-commerce availability, not even a URL mention. Finally, much later on there were Macy’s spots for its online and curbside pick-up offerings. With so many retailers pivoting to digital first marketing campaigns, Macy’s is barely doing digital last.

• Once things got underway, the floats, balloons and bands were brought in front of the 34^th Street cameras from adjacent staging areas. The first balloon on camera was a Youtube character, a first we were told, and all the indication one needed to that know social media rules the world these days. Hosts Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb oversaw things from their traditional viewing perch, the overwhelming exuberance and giddiness up to historic standards.

• A brief vintage film clip of the parade from long ago reminded one that the balloons were once refreshingly generic and not tied in to some brand, film character or cartoon. Loved seeing the trolly tracks on Sixth Avenue, another reminder of the ways things were.

• Mask sightings, mentions and reminders were everywhere and in assorted sound bites from NBC celebrities we were often reminded that this year one needs to be especially thankful. No argument there…even if seeing mask-wearing Rockettes is more than a little disconcerting .

• A few themes in the TV commercials surfaced. There are more animated spots than typical, reflecting that cartoon characters are easier to work with than socially distanced real people wearing masks. This also could be the season of celebrity Santas with both John Travolta, for Capital One COF and Steve Carell, for Xfinity, donning beards (if not masks) to play the part. Of course Santa — the real one — had his usual place as the grand finale of the parade, with Mrs. Claus properly socially distanced elsewhere on the float.

• CBS VIAC has traditionally also broadcast the parade, setting up its viewing stand further uptown from Macy’s and while not getting all the boldface performances of NBC, it often featured more of the live marching bands and parade shenanigans. This year it was reduced to a studio-based show with clips from previous parades and staged performances. Not to worry, the cloyingly thick banter between the co-hosts survived.

In a year when so much has been cancelled, postponed or otherwise rendered weird, there’s no disputing that a Thanksgiving Day starting off with the Macy’s parade was a reassuring and comforting thing. There are those among us who swear they remember people calling it the Macy’s Day Parade as if the retailer owned Thanksgiving itself: that’s how tied in the two are.

Pandemic or not, some things were the same as they ever were today. Pass the cranberries.

Source: Forbes – Business