Inflatable installations have become one of the most unexpected ways brands, artists, and event teams take over public spaces. At Inflatable Design Group, we have built everything from surprise pop-up activations to floating installations to sculptures perched on rooftops, and each one tends to stop people in their tracks.
Surprise Pop-Ups That Take Over the Street
Some of the most memorable public space activations catch people completely off guard. For Aldo’s Pillow Walk pop-up in New York City, we helped bring the brand’s “walk on clouds” concept to life with a soft, branded inflatable installation that doubled as a photo moment for anyone passing by. It was playful, it was hard to miss, and it turned a normal sidewalk into something people wanted to stop for.
Ahead of the record-breaking Paul vs Tyson fight on Netflix, we built 40-foot inflatable replicas of Jake Paul, Mike Tyson, and their female co-fighters that toured through the Texas State Fair, New York City, Miami, and Atlanta before landing at AT&T Stadium on fight night. At every stop, the towering inflatables drew crowds who stopped, snapped photos, and voiced their predictions on who would come out on top.
Disney+ took a similar surprise approach on a global scale for Disney+ Day, setting up custom inflatables in cities across the US, Europe, and South America. The pop-ups gave fans an unexpected shareable moment that felt more like discovering something than being advertised to.
Art You Can’t Ignore
Not every inflatable installation is built for a brand. Some are pure art. Artist Jason Hackenwerth’s Animal Soul exhibition brought a traveling menagerie of towering inflatable creatures to Brookfield Place in New York City. It turned the plaza into a gallery without anyone needing to buy a ticket.
We also worked with the Miami Children’s Museum to create a giant pair of Wicked Witch of the East feet that appeared under the building to announce their Wizard of Oz exhibit. It was a small detail with a big impact and made people slow down, take pictures, and know what to expect before they even step inside.
Inflatable Installations Built to Float
Some of our favorite projects do not sit still. Floating installations bring a different kind fo energy to a public space because they move through it, giving people multiple chances to spot them from bridges, boats, and building windows.
In the days leading up to the annual biggest football weekend, we built a giant Chester Cheetah inflatable that sailed down the Mississippi River aboard the riverboat Louis Armstrong, turning heads along the New Orleans coastline as part of a Cheetos activation. Then, when the United States hosted the international soccer tournament, IDG created a 44-foot inflatable swan for Boston Legacy, the city’s women’s soccer club, floated in Boston Common to look as though it was gliding across the water.
We have floated plenty of other characters too, from a 700-pound Doro inflatable that cruised the Hudson River for the Nikke Summer Tour, to a five-story NYCFC pigeon, to an Adult Swim inflatable for the network premiere of Tuca & Bertie. Whatever the character, the floating installations tend to generate their own kind of buzz simply because people did not expect to see giant characters floating past them on their way to work.
When Brands Team Up On a Big Idea
Some of the best inflatable installations come from collaborations between two brands. Ahead of the premiere of the movie Spiral: Book of Saw, we built a custom inflatable pig character and placed it on the roof of Diamond Supply Co in downtown Los Angeles to announce the clothing brand’s collaboration with the movie. It was unexpected, a little unsettling in the best way, and impossible to scroll past on social media.
We took a similar approach for a Lay’s and 7-Eleven collaboration, building a collection of differently shaped inflatable soccer balls to sit atop a 7-Eleven near the stadium hosting the world’s biggest soccer tournament in Arlington, Texas. The rooftop installation announced a special lineup of Lay’s snacks available throughout the tournament and gave fans something to spot on their way into the stadium.
Order Your Inflatable Installations Today
Whether you are looking to surprise a crowd, turn a public space into an art piece, or collaborate with another brand on something people will talk about, inflatable installations give you a way to do it without feeling like a typical ad. Our team handles everything from concept to install, so your idea gets the same level of detail and craftsmanship as the projects above.
If you have an idea for an inflatable installation, email us at info@inflatabledesigngroup.com and let’s talk about what we can build together. Our lead time is 6+ weeks and always changing, so contact us as soon as possible to get started!