With attendance hovering around 130,000 in recent years, Comic-Con International has long outgrown its San Diego Convention Center space. But the convention center’s walls and the exhibits inside (the exhibit space alone is around 460,000 square feet) are just part of the massive draw for fans of comics and relevant popular arts. Just as attention-grabbing are the stunts, promotions, events, and parties held at bars, clubs, parks, hotels, parking lots, city streets, and even a yacht.
During the 2015 run, which took place July 9 to 11, brands like Adult Swim, Playboy, and Entertainment Weekly took over the Southern California city, bringing large-scale activations, costumed mobs, and custom rides to the thousands gathered. The convention also attracted an array of other, and perhaps surprising, companies—like Kentucky Fried Chicken and Lexus. Many turned to downright wacky stunts in an attempt to communicate their brand messages over the fray.
State Farm sponsored the Adult Swim PrizeCycle promotion that traveled throughout the Gaslamp district between July 9 and 12. The tricked-out bicycles drove to various locations in the area, giving fans an opportunity to win prizes and swag. Hadley Media executed the activation.
Adult Swim returned to Comic-Con with a carnival, produced by Hadley Media, billed as the largest activation footprint of the events surrounding the conference. The cable network gave away prizes at the carnival midway, and the Meatwad Full Dome Experience was a 40-foot planetarium dome that included 360-degree video content and a live stream guided by the fast-food character. Â
Fans could play various custom and classic carnival games to win tickets and score prizes. Cheeky games included "Smack Up My Uvula" and the "Put a Ring on It" ring toss. There was also a face-painting booth, a custom T-shirt station, and other activities.
Costumed characters provided photo ops for fans.
History channel show Vikings offered rides in a custom-branded longship. While on board, fans received drinking horns—a returning feature from last year’s conference—which gave them access to drink specials at select bars throughout the Gaslamp Quarter. The vehicle was also capable of driving on land, where it distributed the horns as well. Civic Entertainment Group produced the promotion.
A group of about 35 mock protestors supported the upcoming horror series Damien between July 9 and 11 alongside the religious protestors, who typically camp out across the street from the San Diego Convention Center. In the spirit of the religious protestors' signage, the team for A&E's activation had posters and shirts promoting the series that read "From Flames, Damien Will Rise" and "The Beast Rises." Brand Connections produced.
Fox Searchlight partnered with Mirrored Media to promote Hitman: Agent 47Â by arranging for 47 people dressed as the assassin character to walk around the San Diego Convention Center and nearby Gaslamp district, pose with fans, and hand out posters for the movie. The stunt culminated with the cosplayers, along with the show's actors, presenting an award during the MTV Fandom Awards at Petco Park.Â
The eighth annual Wired Café at the Omni San Diego hotel terrace served as a retreat from the manic nature of the convention on July 9. Food and drinks came from sponsor Miller Lite as well as Ben & Jerry's ice cream. There was also the Catatonic virtual reality experience, which showed visuals of a creepy 1940s mental hospital and had attendees sit in real wheelchairs attended by live costumed nurses.
On July 9, Chad Hudson Events produced Fandango's first Comic-Con event at the new Omnia Nightclub; in recent years, Fandango parterned with studios to co-host parties, but this year held its own event. The NBC Universal-owned movie-ticketing service brought the band Best Coast for a live performance on the roof of the venue, marking what was also the three-month-old club’s first party associated with the convention.Â
Hudson’s team brought in truss, lighting, projection screens, stage and sound equipment, original art in metallic frames suspended by chains, custom bars, and a photo booth. Ultimate Lighting supported the technical production.
Actor Zachary Levi and his geek culture company, Nerd Machine, took over the New Children’s Museum between July 9 and 12. Admission to NerdHQ was free, and celebrity panels cost $22 per session, with proceeds going to Operation Smile.Â
For the fifth consecutive year, Levi and his team partnered with 48 Communications to produce the four-day retreat, and this year brought on Petrol Advertising as its promotions and management agency.
Correction: An earlier version of this caption incorrectly stated the decor for the event.
A promotion for the six-hour Syfy miniseries Childhood’s End encouraged fans to follow the #ThankYouKarellen and #AtWhatCost hashtags. The stunt began on July 9 with a group of marchers watching the sky—a reference fans won't understand until they see the miniseries in December. The following day, they handed out surprise gifts around town, such as restaurant buyouts, free trolley tickets, $1,000 tips to workers in local stores and restaurants, artwork, chairs for fans waiting in lines, and clothing, all nominally provided by the mysterious character Karellen. The goal was to provoke intrigue surrounding the #ThankYouKarellen hashtag, and at the end of the weekend, the brand sent exclusive content to guests who used it. The content provided a peak inside the miniseries, which is based on the Arthur C. Clarke classic novel. Hadley Media produced.
Entertainment Weekly hosted its annual Comic-Con party for 1,300 at Float at the Hard Rock Hotel. Event Eleven covered the pool with long-haired Astroturf and created a three-hole putt-putt course sponsored by Honda. Each hole had branded flags, golf balls, putters, and a snack cart.Â
Event Eleven's backyard pool-party-theme decor included string lights over the pool, palm patterns on walls, and hot dogs and hamburgers for guests to eat. Bud Light Lime sponsored a logo ping-pong table.Â
Event Eleven's design included cabanas for sponsor HBO and its show Game of Thrones. Each included Moroccan rugs, poufs, heavy dark wood credenzas, and tables with fresh fruit, cheese, and charcuterie.
On July 10, website CraveOnline hosted its Comic-Con activation, Crave Escape, aboard San Diego’s U.S.S. Midway. Cathedrals kicked the night off with a 40-minute set, and a cosplay fashion show followed. Orange Is the New Black actress Taryn Manning hosted the 2,000-person event, which also included fireworks. CraveOnline once again partnered with experiential agency Mirrored Media to produce.Â
Playboy and Gramercy Pictures hosted a party to celebrate the science fiction movie Self/less at Parq Restaurant & Nightclub. Guests walked through a lab experience, which was inspired by the movie and invited guests to take on a new identity of a billionaire for the party. Upon entering, guests encountered female staffers dressed in white coats who escorted them to photo booths or wherever they desired to go inside the space.
In addition to an interactive lab-theme photo booth, the event also included six Playboy Playmates in bunny costumes, Cirque du Soleil-style aerialists, cocktails by Sailor Jerry Spiced Rum, and beer by Devassa by Playboy.
Lexus once again partnered with Adult Swim to present its popular free-ride program, which included five Lexus CT Hybrid vehicles wrapped in custom-designed, co-branded metallic Adult Swim and Lexus artwork. The cars offered free rides throughout the Gaslamp cistrict and the San Diego Convention Center area. Inside the cars, screens mounted in the backseat broadcasted Adult Swim and Lexus content. Hadley Media coordinated the promotion.
Activision created two different escape room-style challenges for Comic-Con, both using themes inspired by environments from the Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 zombies game mode. Guests in groups of 15 went through the 10-minute challenge, working together to solve a series of puzzles before time expired, unleashing costumed zombies. Afterwards, guests posed in front of a green-screen photo booth and scooped up gift bags. The escape room challenge and hands-on gaming opportunities with Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 at the Sony PlayStation truck were available to consumers across the street from the Marriott Marquis from July 9 to 11.
Kentucky Fried Chicken brought three activations to Comic-Con that were centered on the brand's founder and mascot, Colonel Sanders. Through a partnership with Adult Swim, the brand brought seven life-size Wi-Fi-enabled Colonel Sanders statues positioned around various intersections of the Gaslamp Quarter, each decked out in cosplay attire. When conferencegoers located the statues and connected to the network, they reached a co-branded Kentucky Fried Chicken and Robot Chicken digital hub for custom content. Costumed staffers were on hand to promote the brand and its comic campaign.
For the third year, Nintendo had a presence on TV Guide’s yacht positioned at Comic-Con. The Nintendo lounge on the first floor of the yacht allowed talent some game time before and after their TV Guide interviews. Also this year, a video booth allowed celebrities to take and post photos and videos wishing Super Mario Brothers a happy 30th anniversary. The games in the lounge included two prereleased titles: Super Mario Maker for Wii U and The Legend of Zelda: Tri Force Heroes for Nintendo 3DS.Â
BBC America hosted a fan meetup for the show Orphan Black, where more than 900 fans lined up overnight at the House of Blues. The event included two hours of stage programming for fans that included talent appearances, a Family Feud-style game, scene reenactments, and cosplay. The event also included a community art wall signed by the fans and talent, plus a photo booth and giveaways. The Shortlist Agency produced.
