The 42nd annual Macy’s Fourth of July fireworks show once again lit up the sky with a dazzling display while celebrities entertained audiences. The televised broadcast drew in over 7.5 million viewers. Macy’s also relied on a little more than fireworks this year by presenting virtual reality fireworks activations in four of its stores and at festivals across the country a few days ahead of time to stir up greater anticipation for the real thing.
But Macy’s wasn’t the only one to fuse technology with a patriotic light show. Intel celebrated both Independence Day and Travis Air Force Base’s 75th anniversary using 500 light-up drones that put on a show in the night sky. Meanwhile, outdoors brand L.L. Bean hosted a free live concert on Facebook.
Independence Day celebrations wouldn’t be complete without plenty of food. Budweiser embraced this ideal by hosting a massive barbecue party for the record books. The brewery brought 564 people together at its St. Louis headquarters to break the Guinness World record for the number of concurrent people grilling together, all while promoting its limited edition Budweiser Freedom Reserve Lager.
Meanwhile, fast food restaurants took to social media to show their patriotism. Jack In The Box encouraged folks to leave grilling the perfect burger to the pros, and Carl’s Jr. posted a picture of the American flag made using chicken nuggets, fries and ketchup. Oreo gave a shout out to history buffs with a little animation of founding father Benjamin Franklin sneaking a cookie.
Coca-Cola took a more intimate approach to celebrations by launching its heartwarming/breaking “One Last Summer” video series as part of its “Share a Coke” campaign. A new video will release each week, each focusing on different high school graduates who will be leaving their hometowns and separating from friends after the summer as they leave for college.
Disney tapped into the Fourth of July spirit to promote Ant-Man and The Wasp, which released on July 6, by offering the world’s tiniest barbecue on social media. Additionally, Disney encouraged fans to lay back and relax with some Winnie-the-Pooh wisdom as a lead-in to the live action movie Christopher Robin, which hits theaters in August.
Google got into the patriotic spirit with its Independence Day homepage Doodle, which opens an animated map of the United States that link to the greatest summertime recipes for each state.
Lastly, Shinola took a decidedly different approach to celebrating Independence Day while marking the launch of its Statue of Liberty Timepiece Collection. The watchmaker showed America through the eyes of immigrants by releasing a six-minute documentary video that features new citizens following their naturalization ceremony. An emotional tribute that touches one of the most important aspects of living in America and celebrating Independence Day.