The New Oxford American Dictionary, under the word “fun” gives the following definition: noun, enjoyment, amusement, or lighthearted pleasure. If yesterdays events at Pegasus Square in Dallas are any indication then there might soon be another definition. A Carnival Cruise Line cruise and/or advertising event.

At least that is the impression  Arnold Worldwide of Boston has tried to convey, and from the looks of things in Dallas they succeeded.

Carnival’s new advertising campaign seeks to emphasize the uniqueness of a Carnival vacation experience. From Arnold’s website it states:

“Our approach starts by uncovering the brand’s unique, compelling Brand Truth. This Brand Truth becomes the galvanizing force, or the “litmus test” for all brand activity. Once we’ve nailed the Brand Truth, we come up with the campaign idea, and we do it in a media-agnostic kind of way. Then we develop a communications plan mapping objectives and budget parameters to the many capabilities we have at Arnold, be it broadcast, print, design, interactive, direct, promotions and public relations venues.”

Pegasus Square was the setting of an attempted Guinness World Record for the largest beach ball. At approximately 1:00 p.m. Guinness adjudicator Danny Girton, Jr. officially announced that the record had been set. Two of the giant beach balls, officially measuring 36 feet in diameter as determined by a professional surveyor, were dropped from the tops of buildings and into a crowd of more than 2,500 people.

The atmosphere was typical of what one would find on a Carnival cruise, music, food, prizes and an enthusiastic crowd. The event was emceed by Carnival Senior Cruise Director John Heald who was on a local Dallas radio station before the event. Asked why Dallas was chosen for the kickoff of the new advertising campaign, Heald stated that because of the Dallas skyline and it would be used as a backdrop for a new TV commercial. He also said that since Dallas is also close to Galveston which was pioneered by Carnival as a homeport. (Dallas is around a six hour drive to Galveston)

It appeared that since Galveston had been hit hard by Hurricane Ike, it was an appropriate choice and would provide publicity for Carnival’s return to the Port of Galveston since it was damaged during the hurricane. Carnival has been using the Port of Houston’s new cruise terminal in the interim.

Heald, who is from England, joked that he “always wanted to come here, (Texas) and come see J.R. and MIss Ellie.”

For additional photos please visit the following site:  http://www.carnival.com/cms/Funcrowd/

Click on event photo gallery to view the photos