Clips from the commercial and the making of the over-the-top ad are featured in both Hulu and Netflix’s documentaries about Fyre Fest, released earlier this month. The video also appears in the digital version of the presentation Fyre founder and CEO Billy McFarland showed advertisers to get them on board.
It lays out that, “Fyre has been given $8.4mm of market value land on Black Point, Exuma in exchange for hosting the festival and advertising the island.”
Johnny Nunez/WireImage
In Netflix’sFyre: The Greatest Party That Never Happened, McFarland claims he bought the island for $10 million. “Freehold land, no lease,” he tells the cameras. “We own the land forever.”
Fyre Festival eventually lost Norman’s Cay (renamed Fyre Cay in the pitch slides) because as part of the stipulations of taking the island, they weren’t supposed to use Escobar’s name in the promotion. Of course, the convicted narcoterrorist’s moniker appeared in the now-infamous video, and Fyre Fest relocated to the not-so-private island of Great Exuma, near the Sandals Emerald Bay resort.
The presentation documents also solve another question the documentaries leave lingering: what exactly wasJa Rule’s role? Billed publicly as more of a celebrity partner, the rapper, 42, claimed on Twitter on Jan. 20, “I had an amazing vision to create a festival like NO OTHER!!!”
He thenstated later that day, “I too was hustled, scammed, bamboozled, hood winked, lead astray!!!”
As for his official capacity, the deck credits Ja Rule as a Fyre founder, “where he is responsible for overall business strategy, guiding creative and facilitating artist relations.”
It also names over 70 “Fyre Starters” — a.k.a.models and influencerswho served asfestival ambassadorsand were “key personalities to lead the attendance of an influential audience” — including Alessandra Ambrosio, Hailey Bieber, Bella Hadid, Elsa Hosk,Chanel Iman,Kendall Jenner, Emily Ratajkowski and Jen Selter.
Snapchat is additionally listed as a confirmed corporate partner, as well as McFarland’s previously failed business endeavor, Magnises.
Along with the technical claims, the slides advertise Fyre Fest as a “reimagined” musical festival that would be the “cultural experience of the decade.” McFarland even mapped out a five-year plan to “traverse the globe to find untouched lands and convert them into unparalleled experiences.” Each year would be themed after one of the “five elements of the earth,” and involved the “purchase of significant land.”
“We will utilize each festival as a major cultural event to bring awareness, visitors and livelihood to the land,” the pitch reads.
Patrick McMullan via Getty; Jimi Celeste/Patrick McMullan/Getty
Overall, McFarland and his team billed Fyre Festival as “the ultimate in a tasteful experience.”
“The actual experience exceeds all expectations and is something that’s hard to put to words,” the slides continue. “It will ignite that type of energy, that type of power in our guests.”
In the end, some guests felt strongly enough about their experience at the first weekend of Fyre Festival to file a class action lawsuit. McFarland got pleaded guilty toswindling investorsout of $26 million, and is currently serving asix-year prison sentencein Orange County, New York.
Netflix’sFyreand Hulu’sFyre Fraudare streaming now.
source: people.com
