A Great Day For A Parade Poster

Each year on the day before Thanksgiving (informally known as "Thanksgiving Eve"), Macy's runs their annual poster for their Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in the front section of the Los Angeles Times, and it's an edition of that publication I never miss. Aside from increasing excitement for that annual miracle on 34th Street, the poster itself is always a work of art. Here's the poster from last year (one of my favorites as Snoopy, in his guise as the famous World War I Flying Ace, is the hero image of the colorful composition), beautifully illustrated by artist and author Dan Santat. You can get a closer look at the poster's details and, better yet, read his account of the poster's creation. For those that may not know, there's more than artistry involved; there's also licensed characters, Macy's own requirements, budgets and finances (of course), committees, and the proper Pantone colors. That's what it's all about, baby! It takes real artistic talent to mingle creativity and commerce and allow the creativity to still shine. Giving thanks for the parade and the annual poster is just a small start of so much we have to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving!