Fox announced Sunday during its NFL pregame show that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers will perform during the Super Bowl XLII halftime show. The Super Bowl will take place at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on February 3. According to Variety, “Petty and the Heartbreakers represent yet another classic choice for the NFL, which was burned when it attempted to get contemporary with Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson. Since ‘nipple-gate,’ the NFL has gone with performers with lengthy and established careers who perform catalog hits rather than attempt to introduce songs that are about to be released.” Though Prince was widely considered a safe bet last year, his guitar became a giant phallic symbol when illuminated against an uplit drape. The new york Observer summed up its opinion with this headline: “Tom Petty to Soft Rock Super Bowl.”

EVENT REPORT: Water Fund-Raiser Gets Guests Catwalking
Lured by Entourage’s Adrian Grenier and model Jessica Stam, more than a thousand guests came out for a benefit called Charity: Ball on Monday night at Metropolitan Pavilion. Looking to bring water to impoverished communities in Africa, Scott Harrison, founder of an organization that goes by the (oddly punctuated) name Charity: Water, managed to host an overhead-free fete that raised more than $400,000 for the cause. The venue began working with the organization before it even took shape, partnering with Harrison when he was raising money for the medical aid group Mercy Ships in 2005. The venue donated its south pavilion last year for Charity: Water’s first party, for 800 people, with little over a month’s notice. Now that the organization has picked up steam (meaning: celebrity-generated buzz), the venue opted to donate the entire ground floor for this year’s 1,200 guests and also produced the event, entirely with vendor donations.

VENUE news: Puck Building Gets Exclusive With Hudson Yards Catering
Last week, Hudson Yards Catering, the off-premise catering division of Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group, announced that it has signed a long-term agreement with the Puck Building. Effective immediately, the catering operation will be the exclusive caterer and booking agent for events at the landmarked SoHo venue, which offers two spaces including a 10,000-square-foot ballroom.

TED KRUCKEL: What’s New? Not Much, So Steal These Ideas
They say there’s nothing new under the sun, but apparently last year they found a new planet, or spheroid—Planet X, they’re calling it. Being old-school, of course I sided with my nieces in their support of Pluto as the definitive last planet, and even helped them with a Plutonian sculpture. But the point remains that there are really very few new ideas. Nothing demonstrated this more clearly to me than the fact that after a summer of reporting, the biggest news I turned up was the return of the BLT, as an hors d’oeuvre. They were everywhere. On skewers. In cherry-tomato cups. Even as tiny little wraps (the worst incarnation, too doughy). And for the most part, they were good. Now, did every caterer come up with the idea of mini BLTs simultaneously? Was it in the zeitgeist? Or did somebody commit (gulp) idea theft? Idea-lifters, take solace; I’ve decided I don’t care. Since these days every hip-hop song is a ripoff of some ’70s R&B number, and despite years of endless overuse the fashion world can’t seem to stop using the word vintage, this really is the era where originality doesn’t matter. It’s how you steal it.

THE SCOUT: 6 Gift-Worthy travel Bags
Before guests or employees fly to a meeting or trade show, give them an easy upgrade with a carry-on bag to hold all their work and travel essentials.

EVENT REPORT: New Balance Shoes Shine Amidst Rustic Decor
New Balance celebrated a few things all at once in SoHo on Tuesday—its new NB Inside Collection designed by DDC Lab, the fact that I.D. magazine named the line as one of the best designs of 2007, and, well, Christmas. Held in the Grant Gallery on Mercer (next to DDC’s lab), the event was all about the shoes. Housed in clear Lucite cubes suspended from the ceiling, the footwear hung above wooden pedestals that DDC fashioned from beams. Blueish lights were embedded in the pedestals, illuminating the shoes in what was otherwise a dark space. “We wanted to mix natural with super technology, high-tech with low-tech, and we didn’t want the shoes to be sitting stagnantly,” said DDC designer Savania Davies-Keiller, who created the women’s footwear line with her creative partner Roberto Crivello. The clear wires holding the cubes allowed the shoes to be twisted and turned, giving the event’s 400 guests a chance to view the kicks from all angles.

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