Who hasn’t heard about Las Vegas Sphere so far? MSG Sphere has become a fixture of digital entertainment, kicking off with the fanfare of an immersive U2 show and instantly invading the social media landscape with mind-blowing visuals. And for a good reason, it’s truly spectacular. It’s time to have a list of the best MSG Sphere ads. Discover the best activations that graced this gigantic Las Vegas construction.
What is Las Vegas Sphere?
Officially opening its doors on September 29, 2023, MSG Sphere is a brand-new music and entertainment arena east of the Las Vegas Strip.
The stats are nothing short of impressive.
It measures 366 feet (112 m) high and 516 feet (157 m) wide.
It cost $2.3 billion to construct.
875,000 square feet of area make it the largest spherical building in the world.
18,600 people can be seated inside with 20,000 people standing capacity.
But it’s the technological side of MSG Sphere that really makes it stand out as a one-of-a-kind digital signage.
The Sphere in Las Vegas boasts an interior 16K resolution wraparound LED screen measuring 160,000 square feet and an exterior 580,000 square feet of LED display space. We’ll focus on the latter for the sake of this article.
Although young, MSG Sphere has already been a much-coveted advertising space. Looking at the scale of construction and the creative liberty you can have with the spherical form it’s easy to understand why. Moreover, advertising here means advertising in the whole of Las Vegas at once, Madison Square Garden Sphere is seen from multiple points around the desert city and from the air too.
Oh, and we've almost forgotten the advertising costs. Per KSNV, a one-week campaign is about $650,000 and a one-day one is $450,000.
Let’s get right to the best Las Vegas Sphere ads.
1. Xbox Series X|S - Sphere - Power Your Dreams
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCnNKrd9hpw
Why: Xbox took MSG Sphere as a canvas and showed what their marketing is capable of in the latest “ Power Your Dreams” activation. It’s a campaign that you want to be fully immersed in. The show starts with an Xbox iconic “X” overtaking the Madison Square Garden Sphere. Afterward, the ad goes on to introduce viewers to the world of games that can be played on the console with anamorphic 3D footage from such hits as Starfield, Forza Motorsport, Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II, and Cyberpunk 2077. The whole thing looks amazing combined with the well-recognized casino-dotted landscape.
2. Sphere Vegas x 2023 NBA Summer League
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvuL6CTEBxA
Why: less is more in the case of the NBA’s campaign that uses the gigantic LED screen of the Las Vegas Sphere to announce the coming of the summer league. The spherical structure is perfect for a basketball. That’s exactly what we see here. And it looks great. Having the ball as the campaign’s centerpoint allows the NBA to instantly capture the attention of the whole city and make an effective statement. Let’s see how the soccer and American football leagues will respond to that with their Sphere activations.
3. Marvel's Spider-Man 2 - Sphere Las Vegas Takeover
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iMWqIuSjm8&pp=ygUNdGhlIHNwaGVyZSBhZA%3D%3D
Why: Marvel and PlayStation go epic for their Sphere takeover. Las Vegas shines in red and black, the colors of Spidey and Venom. Imagine what seeing that kind of spectacle would be in real life driving down the road and witnessing the gigantic Spiderman logo above you followed by the menacing face full of spikey teeth of Venom. That’s an ultimate attention-grabbing ad and one of the coolest activations of Las Vegas Sphere. The commercial is promoting the new Spider-Man 2 game for PlayStation and turns heads.
4. Sphere | Hello World | A July 4th Event Like No Other
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUsY8ocXVuk
Why: before Las Vegas Sphere opened in September with that U2 concert, it had to light up people’s expectations with a showcase of its visual capabilities. And so it did, on July, 4 the structure lit up with myriads of lights and colors. There were various shapes, psychedelic patterns, Earth-like installations, fireworks, and Tron-reminiscent visuals. It all looked very futuristic and mind-blowing. And it has kept everyone talking ahead of September. Basically, it was one big ad for The Sphere itself and we absolutely loved it.
5. MINI USA | Spike and the New All-Electric MINI Countryman Visit Sphere
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGpsvvlSKY8
Why: 3D billboards are not always the best when it comes to storytelling. In MINI’s case, they have successfully combined an anamorphic impressive part with easy-to-follow promotional storytelling for their 2025 MINI Countryman Electric. All thanks to cute Spike, a cute unofficial mascot of the company which is a blue-and-white digital doggo with funny ears and a vibrant personality.
According to Rob Lambrechts, MINI’s Chief Creative Officer, the company strived to “think of this campaign as an art piece, not as an ad. People are coming to Sphere to have fun and be entertained, so we needed to integrate MINI in the least intrusive way possible.” Now that’s something defining for advertising in 2023 when brands no longer treat commercials as merely selling vehicles but look at them as some kind of visual art. Digital signage is perfect to host such artistic endeavors and bring all the attention.
6. Meta Quest 3 | Sphere | Expand your world
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JlSMZg5cwKQ
Why: Meta has approached their Sphere takeover with creativity. The campaign is devoted to Meta Quest 3 and promotes Ghost Busters and Stranger Things VR by immersing viewers into the worlds of both. In the case of Ghost Busters, it’s the goofy Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man that invades the Sphere. Stranger Things chooses a darker approach opening the portal into The Upside Down in the middle of busy Las Vegas. In both cases, the results look incredible combined with the visual capabilities of Las Vegas Sphere.
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