Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by the Numbers: You Won't Believe How Many Clowns!

"It's probably the only place you'll see Dolly Parton in a van talking to Kermit the Frog." So says John Piper, VP of Macy's Studio, whose team is busily putting together the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade from a cavernous factory in Moonachie, N.J. Mr. Piper, who has done this for 35 years, laid out some mind-blowing logistics of how Macy's coordinates all those balloons, floats, bands and celebrities along Manhattan streets on Thanksiving Day. Mr. Piper, along with a team from Ram, which is the "official vehicle" of the event -- meaning it is providing 75 trucks to tow the floats -- gave Ad Age a sneek peek at some of the stunning statistics on what it takes to put on the annual spectacle. One first-timer in the parade will be KFC, which is representing Colonel Sanders' road trip in a 17-foot white Cadillac (sorry, Ram) from Corbin, Ky., the site of his first KFC restaurant, to New York City. The float is marked with the routes taken and, of course, the colonel himself is aboard. Mr. Piper said the float is three bus lanes wide and 12 feet tall. It is partly disassembled for transport to New York City for the parade and takes five boom cranes to put together. Other branded floats this year: Hallmark's recreation of a home at Christmas complete with a fireplace that looks like it's actually burning (Mariah Carey will ride this float); a huge Ocean Spray Cranberry float with an enormous goose and turkey wearing waders for the bog (the band Train will be aboard); a Peanuts float complete with Charlie Brown's sad little Christmas tree celebrating the TV special's 50th anniversary; and Build-A-Bear Workshop float that features a bear astronaut. All of them will be pulled by Ram trucks. When asked whether people would actually notice the trucks in the parade, Todd Brown, brand manager of the Ram 1500, said they would. "The parade shows our capability and style in a different venue than consumers are used to," he said. Here are some fun facts and figures about the parade.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade by the Numbers: You Won't Believe How Many Clowns!

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