That's an interesting question, which prompted us to contact SkyTag, the company that created it. They're the same people responsible for all the giant "wraps" you see around town, like those for Penn & Teller at the Rio, LOVE at the Mirage, and Rok Bar at New York-New York.
For those who don't know, SkyTag is based in Beverly Hills, with an office in Las Vegas, and has been around for 20 years. Their first giant mural bedecked the Playboy building on the Sunset Strip in L.A. and was actually a projection; since then, new technology has enabled them to produce adhesive vinyl signs that stick to steel and glass. They've recently added a new string to their bow, with a method of adding giant images to the bottom of swimming pools, without needing to drain the pool (look out for some of these in Vegas next summer...), plus they've been responsible for some other very dramatic publicity stunts, like the giant puppy rooftop "blimps" they tethered up and down Sunset Strip to promote 102 Dalmations. (If you don't believe us, click this link then click the "Creative" button in the left-hand navigation.)
Sometimes, however, they stick to a more conventional approach. Until we revisited something we'd written about this when it first went up, we'd totally forgotten that in fact the giant 128' X 56'10" image of Barry Manilow that has adorned the south-west facing tower of the Las Vegas Hilton since February, 2008 isn't a "banner" at all but, in fact, a mural that was produced by a team of three painters over a five-day period using nothing more hi tech than brushes and rollers. The mural option was officially chosen for safety reasons, since that side of the hotel is very exposed and subject to high winds, so no chances were being taken with a wrap that might blow off (although such a thing has never happened). We have a sneaking suspicion that Mr Manilow's ego may also have had something to do with it.
The mural that's currently showing isn't the original: The show was called Barry Manilow: Music and Passion when it opened; when the name was changed to Ultimate Manilow: The Hits, the mural was completely repainted. Now that it's confirmed his final show at the Las Vegas Hilton will be on Dec. 30, we wondered what would happen to the mural, especially as a replacement headliner has yet to be announced.
So, we got in touch with the ever-helpful folks at SkyTag to see what was going to happen post-Barry, and they explained that they're simply going to paint over it again, although with what has yet to be determined. They're in discussions with the Hilton and evidently a new headliner is in the pipeline, but not yet confirmed. If that's still the case when Manilow leaves, they'll most likely use the space to promote other Hilton business, so it's unlikely to be blank.
Had Barry been an adhesive sign, like the majority of the other SkyTag "spectaculars" in Las Vegas, they'd simply have used their standard solvent to dissolve the adhesive, which leaves the surface clean and without trace of the sticky residue that could otherwise convert building façades into giant flypapers.
In the course of our conversation with SkyTag, we learned that Rita Rudner and George Wallace are also murals. The former performer asked them to caricature her, while George Wallace came out a remarkably close match to real life. He's about to get a new background, but they're not messing with his face. Stay tuned for news of a massive new mural coming to Las Vegas next year -- something about seven times the size of Barry Manilow (or rather, his mural). We can't tell you where or what, yet, but stay tuned and you'll be the first to know about it.
