Macy’s Parade: The Pinnacle of Fall

Fall, in its grandest form.

For the 96th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, I saw an opportunity hiding in plain sight. As fall and Halloween culture continued to grow, Macy’s—the brand behind America’s defining Thanksgiving tradition—wasn’t fully claiming the season it helped make iconic. I conceived a campaign that positioned the Parade as the pinnacle of fall, shifting the spotlight from its famous finish on 34th Street to the Upper West Side, where the ribbon is cut and Thanksgiving morning comes alive.

I selected and led Carpenter Collective, directing the work end to end across strategy, brief, concept, art direction, copy, presentations, internal alignment and execution. Together, we folded crimson and gold into the Parade’s bright palette, transformed confetti into autumn leaves and built a campaign spanning digital, social, event collateral, hospitality and limited-edition product.

The result was both an evolution and a finale: the last full expression of the illustration system we had expanded over several years. It proved the brand could continually find something new within a beloved tradition—and that when fall reaches its most spectacular moment, it belongs to Macy’s.