Comic Con – A Weekend of (Plastic) Swords and (Branded) Sorcery

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Oz Comic Con was held this weekend in Melbourne at MCEC, on Saturday and Sunday, an event that typically attracts tens of thousands of people who love comics, pop culture, films and dressing up. Although nowhere on the scale as the USA’s San Diego Comic Con, guests this year included Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo: Game of Thrones) and Billy Boyd (Pippin Took: Lord of the Rings). It was a day of Darth Vaders rubbing shoulders with Deadpools, Daleks facing off Hulkbusters, and as many prop weaponry on sale as anyone could want. Some highlights:

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This Ghostbuster looked 100% ready for action: his kit lighted up and everything. A+ for effort!

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Impressive makeup work from the Sharp FX guys.

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This towering Predator is a sculpture, not a costume – love all that detail!

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The presence of one of the most enduring entertainment brands in the world was everywhere. Here, Marvel’s Hulkbuster poses with a Dalek, in front of Marvel’s Avengers: Age of Ultron installation. We were a little surprised to see that Marvel was capitalising on its wildly popular Avengers brand, rather than promoting its less-well-known upcoming Antman film… or… maybe not. Marvel’s overlords, Disney, had a decent showing as well, with various Frozen Elsas and Annas, a Maleficent, and various classic Princesses. Not to be outdone, the BBC had a large stall as well, mostly selling Dr Who merchandise and some Sherlock.

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The Prince of Asgard, in the indie artists’ alley.

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Now for some shop talk. Anyone found it interesting how McDonald’s Create Your Taste stall in Comic Con had no McDonalds branding? Not even the ubiquitous red uniforms? It was doing a roaring trade, synthetic turf, black shipping container shell, hipster cafe wood boards and all. It was a curious direction for McDonalds to take, and maybe one that they might explore further in the future. Create Your Taste’s campaign positioning (by OMD Fuse) is ‘very “un-McDonalds”‘, and compared to some of McDonald’s earlier attempts at hashtag campaigns, #createyourtaste has been largely positively received.

Will this save the McDonalds brand? Only time will tell. But Maccas? Please roll out your all day breakfast in Melbourne. We can’t wait to eat hash browns at ungodly hours in the evenings.

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