When Unbreakable was released, the movie had much to live up to… Fortunately, M Night Shyamalan’s sophomore effort turned out to be as good as his first film- The Sixth Sense.
Comic book collectors especially, could completely appreciate and enjoy Unbreakable’s real-world, very serious take on the absurdity of humans with super abilities and powers.
There had been rumors that Unbreakable was part of a trilogy, but after YEARS without a sequel, most fans were completely taken by surprise when Split revealed itself as the next installment in the Unbreakable universe.
Now, almost 20 years later, Glass brings things full-circle!
To hype the long awaited film, this past October Universal Pictures set up an immersive activation on the floor of New York Comic Con (NYCC)- inviting attendees to enter the world of comic books, heroes and villains.
NYCC Attendees were encouraged to browse the shelves of a mock comic book store and marvel at the centerpiece comic book encased behind glass.
From the plexiglass encasement, only the cover of the comic book- titled The Wisperman– could be seen. But it’s a safe bet its the same comic of which the interior pages are briefly shown in the Glass television trailer.
The Glass marketing team didn’t take advantage of the PERFECT opportunity to promote the movie by creating and distributing real-world copies of the comic to NYCC attendees as awesome SWAG items… But a fortunate few visitors to the Glass booth activation did walk away with a much more personal souvenir of his/her visit.
Visitors willing to endure the wait were invited to make an appointment to participate in a mock psychiatric session/evaluation, similar to the therapy session seen in the Glass trailer.
After being led to a back room of the comic book shop, taking a picture, and answering questions to determine one’s predisposition as hero or villain, participants walked away with an uniquely personalized mini-poster of his/her image on the Glass theatrical poster.
With a booth recreation of the comic book store set from Unbreakable and Glass, and a fun, scene re-enacting, interactive component, the Glass activation at NYCC was extremely successful at drawing participants into the fictional, Unbreakable/Split/Glass Universe.
And best of all, the experience culminated with a satisfying, personalized SWAG item that almost guaranteed the recipients’ support at the box office on opening weekend!
It certainly worked on me…