How Are the Big Outside Wraps on Vegas Buildings Installed and Removed?

Several of the large hotels (the D, Flamingo, Luxor, etc.) have outside wraps for promotional purposes. Are these wraps one giant piece and what is the procedure and time involved to install one or to remove one?

These giant building wraps, also known as mediagenic and supergraphic signs, "tallwall" advertising, and spectaculars, have been around for more than 30 years and created quite a stir around 10 years ago in Los Angeles, where giant murals, projections, and supergraphic signs on big walls have proliferated, much to the chagrin of residents and politicians.

They're not nearly as controversial in Las Vegas, since they're confined to a few buildings in the tourist corridor (such as Toni Braxton and Donnie and Marie Osmond at the Flamingo, LOVE at the Mirage, Prince at the Rio, and Armageddon at Luxor, among a few others).

They're produced out of adhesive vinyl that sticks to steel and glass and they come in a number of sheets that installers piece together. The image contains myriad tiny holes that allow you to see out, but present a seemingly solid image from the outside.

The time and labor involved in putting a supergraphic up on a skyscraper wall are considerable, though we couldn't pin down any specifics. But we did learn that it's easier to put one up than to take one down.

Just as it's a lot easier for your kid to slap a sticker on your fridge than it is to get the darned thing off again, the dismantling is usually harder than the installation, although a chemical dissolves the adhesive and leaves the windows clean, without that nasty residue that could turn the building into giant fly paper.

Controversies aside, it's a particularly effective form of advertising, especially in a city like Las Vegas, where you can guarantee thousands of pairs of eyeballs a day passing your building that can't help looking at the big visual wow.

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Comments

rokgpsman Feb-08-2020

Advertising in Las Vegas

These giant plastic murals on buildings seem like a tackiness that detracts from the uniquely appealing Vegas-look of the building such as Luxor, Flamingo and others. Architects, designers and many other people used a lot their talent and the clients money coming up with a building's look, then someone slaps on a giant commercial ad. I understand and I'm ok with the ads on cabs and all the marquee signs, that's part of being a tourist town, but I dislike these building murals and those large billboard ad trucks that drive the Strip at a slow pace, making bad traffic even worse.

[email protected] Feb-08-2020

Tacky?

I dunno, seems to me that tackiness is kind of quintessential Las Vegas!  :-)

thebeachbum Feb-08-2020

Tacky? 2

I'm with lschulz on this one.

Keith Crane Feb-08-2020

Eyesore from inside

Just a point from the view of the hotel occupant. I like the D and I like a view but you can't really get both. From the center of the room you don't see the pattern but the view is not "sharp". Within 3-4 feet of the window you see thousands of dots. Sometimes you see a line where the vinyl folded on application. Therefore I am not a fan of this method of advertising.

[email protected] Feb-08-2020

It's Vegas Baby

I see no problem with the advertising. I'm is Las Vegas 8 to 10 times a year. I look at it this way if the companies were not getting a return on the investment they would stop.

Carey Rohrig Feb-08-2020

Tacky = Vegas

Like everything else in Vegas it is all about the money

Annie Feb-08-2020

From the inside looking out.

For the same reason that theatres warn ticket buyers of seats that have partially obstructed views, hotels have an obligation to inform potential guests that a room they are considering renting will have less than normal natural light and less than a perfect view. 

But, of course, they won't so inform. If I rented an expensive room, and it turned out I had to view the the Las Vegas cityscape or the distant mountains through a "myriad of tiny holes," because my window had been hijacked to sell tickets to "Donnie and Marie," I'd be miffed, to put it mildly.

Larry Kostyniak Jan-29-2024

Unsightly wraps

The horrible Dorito sign on the Luxor is atrocious.  I agree with the comment below that the hotels in Las Vegas are designed to be somewhat attractive.  Placing wraps on the sides is really cheesy and trashy looking, even for Vegas.  Imagine a wrap on the beautiful Bellagio or Paris or Palazzo or the Wynn.  The Luxor hotel is an attractive Las Vegas icon and now it looks like a big stupid Dorito Chip.

Question of the Day - 08 February 2020

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