Josh Allen is back on the Statler Hotel. Gatorade’s new “It Lives Here” campaign returned the Buffalo Bills quarterback to one of the city’s most visible canvases, with a massive installation wrapping the Statler ahead of Buffalo’s matchup with Baltimore.
The build became the backdrop for a Thursday night pregame rally in Niagara Square, where Bills Mafia packed the area before the Bills went on to beat the Ravens 36-10 on Sunday.
It’s the second time Allen has taken over the Statler.
The first installation, in 2024, became enough of a local phenomenon that Allen was asked about seeing his own face on the building during a press conference, while fans pushed to keep the display up longer.
This time, the city leaned into it.
The City of Buffalo, Visit Buffalo and Buffalo Place hosted the rally, with the Bills also participating, turning the out-of-home execution into something closer to a civic event. Behind both installations is New York design studio Inwindow, founded by Jeff Cohen. Watch below:
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What makes the work unusual is how much of the process the studio handles itself.
Rather than waiting for a client to secure a building and hand over a media space, Inwindow brings the location to the table. For the Statler execution, the studio negotiated directly with the building’s owner, managed permits and approvals, designed the installation and handled fabrication and deployment.
The reveal was also teased through QR codes placed on Buffalo’s grain silos, extending the campaign beyond the hotel itself.
That end-to-end approach gives Inwindow a role somewhere between design studio, producer and urban media operator.
The company also recently worked on Gatorade’s Caitlin Clark activation in Indianapolis, continuing a run of large-scale sports installations built around highly recognizable athletes in their home markets.
TBWA\Chiat\Day and OMG are also behind the broader “It Lives Here” campaign. For Gatorade, the Buffalo execution works because it doesn’t treat the city as a backdrop.
It makes the city part of the idea.
And for one weekend, Josh Allen wasn’t just the face of the Bills.
He was the face of the skyline.
CREDITS:
BRAND: Gatorade
AGENCY: TBWA\Chiat\Day LA
AGENCY: Inwindow
Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Cohen
MEDIA: Omnicom Media Group
PRODUCTION: Inwindow
Chief Creative Officer: Jeff Cohen
