ad:tech: Riding Johnny Utah's Beast, and Other Unfortunate Events

There are plenty of reasons why Sunday night's XY7.com party made us all want to kill ourselves, but probably the most potent one was the mechanical-bull-riding-bikini-contest.

This battle of bronzy bumps was allegedly open to volunteers, but it grew pretty clear that none of the entrants actually came from the industry. "Not the ad industry, anyway," smirked UnSubCentral's John Engler, who effectively exhausted his double-entendre quota for the night.

But don't take my word for it. Watch three contestants ride the bull like eager extras in a softcore tribute to Urban Cowboy:

Also see dos and tres.

Blondie won, mainly because she can buck upside-down. Then a couple of classy schmoozers from Tatto Media ("Smart behavioral advertising!") walked by, gave me a card and asked me to visit their conference booth/VIP cocktail lounge. Good to know somebody was working the room, and not just workin' little Johnny.

After the obviously untoppable (and nearly topless!) fun and games at Johnny Utah, which is where XY7's grand fete took place, a pile of us went to The Living Room at the W, where we all drank too much, fidgeted with our iPhones ("We're the Borg!" quipped bizdev freelancer Seth), and set bits of the wheatgrass displays on fire.

It never ceases to amaze me how many candles populate a W bar, always, it seems, at dangerously close proximity to gauzy curtains and/or conversation pieces made of grass. Are trendy drunk people not flammable?

Relive the night in technicolor.