A sold-out Comic-Con International took over San Diego for the 45th year from Thursday to Sunday, attracting an estimated 130,000 fans who descended upon the city's convention center, streets, and surrounding venues in an effort to get the latest scoop on all things pop culture. Marketers once again pulled out all the stops to grab conventiongoers' attention, taking over aircraft carriers for parties, sending 14-foot robots out to interact with attendees, and covering local establishments with mysterious symbols.
Here's a look at some of the most noteworthy activations, parties, and promotions from the expo.
Ubisoft tapped parkour professionals from the Tempest Freerunning Academy to stage live-action shows at its Comic-Con activation.
Nintendo turned a space at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina hotel into a lounge open to attendees of the convention and the public. Gaming stations gave visitors the opportunity to participate in the first-ever Super Smash Bros. tournament; the title for Nintendo 3DS devices is slated for release in October.
Lifestyle website CraveOnline and network TNT hosted a private event aboard aircraft carrier the U.S.S. Midway to promote TV drama The Last Ship. The Friday affair included a dramatic, on-deck fireworks display.
Organizers designed the event's scenic elements to match the imagery in the post-apocalyptic world of the TV series, including a bar serving specialty cocktails, which sat alongside the USS Midway.
In addition to laser tag, the evening entertained guests with a DJ set by Grimes and a performance by rock group MGMT.
After bringing an experiential pop-up to Comic-Con last year, Samsung returned with an updated Samsung Galaxy Experience. New this year was the brand's partnership with Lionsgate, which used the space at the Hard Rock Hotel to preview the first official trailer for The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 on Friday. For instance, in a nod to President Snow's capitol color scheme, organizers covered models in the Capitol Gallery area in head-to-toe white.
The immersive environment for fans of the Hunger Games franchise included activities like a "Capitol Quiz," which was based on the film's 12 districts.
Guests at Samsung and Lionsgate's preview event could pose in President Snow's chair, which was flanked by holograms of the film's Peeta and Johanna characters.
An area known as "Peeta's Bakery" featured cupcakes, cookies, and other treats for guests to snack on.
Guests could preview the film's first official teaser trailer on the Galaxy Tab S.
Samsung also hosted an invite-only lounge at the Hard Rock Hotel, where guests had the opportunity to preview the brand's latest devices.
The Hard Rock Hotel was also the site of the party for Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the sequel to the 2005 movie Sin City. The event on Thursday brought guests to the rooftop, where lounges were surrounded by the film's posters.
The Sin City event, which was produced by Chad Hudson Events for the Weinstein Company and Dimension Films, also featured projections of the film's characters on the surface of the hotel's rooftop pool.
The Wired Café has become a staple at Comic-Con, and the tech magazine's activation returned to San Diego for the seventh year. Located on the terrace of the Omni Hotel, the pop-up café gave guests the opportunity to experience a 360-degree view of the fictional world on Game of Thrones via Oculus Rift's virtual-reality goggles.
HBO again sponsored the café's bar, and this year the space was constructed to resemble the massive wall of ice featured on network's Game of Thrones.
Game of Thrones's Pedro Pascal hopped behind the bar to serve a few drinks.
The magazine tapped the Stan Winston Studio to create a 14-foot-tall robot that roamed the streets of San Diego and interacted with fans.
A&E and Playboy teamed up to host a Friday event, which took over a 40,000-square-foot outdoor space near the San Diego Convention Center. Promoting the TV network's popular Bates Motel series alongside the magazine's iconic imagery, the affair included an alfresco lounge that had a Playboy bunny logo in blue to match the show's neon sign.
As they arrived, attendees received polarized sunglasses that allowed them to view custom content that appeared on the LCD windows of a display constructed to look like the Bates Motel façade.
The party also included a taxidermy lounge, a “marijuana” field maze, food trucks, and Playboy Playmates in custom blue bunny suits that matched the branding.
Guests could pose for photos in a motel-room-like setting.
TV channel History also took over an empty lot, transforming an outdoor space on Second Avenue into a Vikings-theme world.
At the Vikings activation, fans could create a character profile, choose a weapon, and have their hair and makeup done before starring in a 30-second video that could then be shared via Facebook, Twitter, or Vine.
To promote its program, the network gave fans the opportunity to snap selfies using fun-house mirrors set up throughout the Gaslamp District.
Contortionists and acrobats took to the streets of the Gaslamp District to hand out popcorn from branded carts.
An Adult Swim-branded ice cream truck circulated throughout the Gaslamp District.
Comic-Con fans who were 18 years of age or older could snag free rides around the Gaslamp District in branded Lexus vehicles.
M.A.C. Cosmetics took advantage of the crowds in town for Comic-Con and hosted a presale of its Simpsons Collection at its San Diego Gaslamp store. Models dressed as Marge Simpson circulated throughout the store and Fifth Avenue.
M.A.C. makeup artists gave fans complimentary Marge Simpson-inspired makeovers during the event.
To create buzz for its upcoming drama Dig, the network posted symbols accompanied with the hashtag #DigDeeper throughout the Gaslamp District.
In addition to storefronts, restaurants, and cars, the #DigDeeper hashtag was also written in the sky. Comic-Con attendees who spotted the symbol could participate in a Snapchat contest to win a party with the show's producer.
Members of the public who participated in Ubisoft’s parkour course at the Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade had the opportunity to jump from a 25-foot tower designed to resemble Notre Dame. The brand turned to NVE: The Experience Agency to design and produce the French Revolution era-inspired course, which also included guillotines, wine barrels and hay stacks.
Since Galavant, Once Upon a Time, and Quest feature castles, ABC tapped Chad Hudson Events to create one for its booth.
For Entertainment Weekly's party, held on July 26 at Float at the Hard Rock Hotel, a monochromatic lounge featured decor inspired by the Guilty Remnant cult on HBO’s The Leftovers.
