Thousands of Iowans are attending the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California tomorrow as part of Rose Bowl festivities. Three of this year’s floats are designed by Iowan Dave Pittman. He’s employed year round as a float designer and says companies sponsoring floats are spending up to half a million dollars on the event.
“A quarter of a million dollars is a nice, impressive float in the parade. And there are a handful every year who spend more than that. But the other thing is, if someone is spending a quarter of a million dollars on what the marketing people call an 'ad buy,' they’re going to support that with suites at the game and the parade, and tickets for their executives," he says.
Pittman has designed more than 120 floats since 1992 for the Rose Parade. All of them have been completely covered in organic material, as parade rules require.