Palms: From Dust to Gold by AKQA

The Palms Casino Resort is taking a crowbar and chainsaw to the past and is paving the way for a new, sparkling renovation in Las Vegas.

To celebrate, the resort is launching ‘From Dust to Gold,’ an original marketing campaign designed to embrace the demolition of the property’s storied past, and usher in a collection of new venues opening and to build anticipation for the progress unfolding every day.

In a city that’s constantly reshaping itself, the multifaceted Palms campaign puts forth the resort’s vision of ushering in a new era of Las Vegas by destroying the old. The $620m multi-phased renovation of the property is celebrated in the creative, showcasing the destruction and progress.

‘From Dust to Gold’ shows the resort as a leader in pop culture, food and entertainment, but also highlights its evolution by addressing new phases in art and design. Palms’ executive team and AKQA, Palms’ innovation and experience design agency of record, tapped director Paul Hunter to bring that vision to life. The Hollywood director drew from his experiences from works ranging from Notorious BIG’s ‘Hypnotize’ video to videos for Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Madonna, U2, Justin Timberlake to most recently, his video for Pharrell’s ‘Freedom.’

Conceptualized and created by AKQA Portland and New York, the From Dust to Gold campaign was further brought to life by Academy Award-winning Swedish cinematographer, Linus Sandgreen, and famed street artist, Revok. The integrated campaign features a series of five online brand films, over one dozen social teasers and an immersive campaign microsite that highlights all of the new features and venues that are part of the renovation.

In the feature spot, we see a well-dressed crew of people destroying the opulent resort, taking baseball bats, gasoline, crowbars, Molotov cocktails, fierce dogs, spray paint, chainsaws and explosive charges to the old Palms, paving the way for the new, with the unveiling of Damien Hirst’s first interactive bar concept in the US – the Unknown. The dramatic center bar, designed personally by Hirst, showcases The Unknown (Explored, Explained, Exploded), a piece of work that consists of a tiger shark divided into three parts – alongside works from his Pharmaceutical series of spot paintings.

In addition, a 30-second spot will run on local Las Vegas television and more than 90 different out-of-home placements can be seen in Las Vegas and the corridor to Los Angeles.