At least one element that has made Comic-Con hell on earth in recent years has ended, namely the stampede each day to get those oversized walking billboard bags that Warner Brothers gives away each day. Brilliant from a marketing standpoint but functionally useless — unless it’s to make an emergency dress or shelter — the bags were nonetheless highly sought after by congoers, resulting in mobs of people milling around the booth waiting for the distribution hours, clogging aisles and making posing with Stormtrooper Elvis a real hassle. But no more! The bags are now part of the OFFICIAL CON GIVEAWAYS! with 11 different ads designs; one will be given to each con-goer. Don’t like the one you got? Imagine the resulting swapping and trading! This could be as competitive as the Barney’s Warehouse Sale a great way to make to make friends. Official PR below, with links to many other con-related sites.
Also, you’ll note a few of the bags are actually comics related! Innovative! BTW, here’s the one we want:
Twitter Pitch:WBTV and @Comic_Con team up on official bags for Comic-Con #2010: http://bit.ly/atgR7k #WBSDCC @thewbdotcom
For the past four years, Warner Bros. Entertainment’s limited-edition, signature oversize canvas tote bags have been a must-have at Comic-Con, with tens of thousands of fans flocking to the Warner Bros. booth on the convention floor to snag one, and Entertainment Weekly once dubbing them the Con’s “ubiquitous accessory.” This year, Warner Bros. Entertainment (WBE) and Comic-Con are teaming up to put one directly in the hands of every attendee, with the Studio signing on as sponsor of the Comic-Con International: San Diego 2010 Official Bag.
• For Comic-Con 2010, the Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing (WWTVM) unit has created 11 unique designs for the bags, with one side featuring the official Comic-Con 2010 artwork designed by WWTVM and the other side representing titles from across a number of WBE divisions, including Warner Bros. Television, Warner Bros. Animation, Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Home Entertainment, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and DC Entertainment
• More than 125,000 collectible bags (24″X29″) have been produced and will be distributed to attendees when they check in at Comic-Con throughout the five days of the convention, including Preview Night
• Today, WBE and Comic-Con are unveiling artwork for four of the WBE bags, as well as artwork for the official Comic-Con side of the bags:
◦ Warner Bros. Animation series “The Looney Tunes Show,” coming soon to Cartoon Network
◦ Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment’s “Batman: The Brave and the Bold – The Videogame,” inspired by Warner Bros. Animation’s hit animated series based upon characters from DC Comics. The Videogame is available on Wii and Nintendo DS September 7. New episodes of “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” air Fridays at 7:30 p.m. on Cartoon Network, and “Batman: The Brave and the Bold” Season 1, Part 1 is available on DVD August 17.
◦ DC Comics’ best-selling “Brightest Day”comic book series
◦ Warner Bros. Home Entertainment’s Blu-ray™, DVD and digital download release of Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Clash of the Titans,” available July 27
• To download images, please click here:
• www.thewb.com/comiccon/officialbags2010• To download images of the creative fashions that fans have put together utilizing the Warner Bros. bags in the past, please click here:
• www.thewb.com/comiccon/bagswardrobe
• Other sponsored bags will feature the following titles:
◦ Warner Bros. Television series “The Big Bang Theory,” “Chuck,” “Fringe,” “Human Target,” “Nikita” and “The Vampire Diaries”
◦ Warner Bros. Animation series “Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated”
• For additional information about Warner Bros. Television activities at Comic-Con, follow us on Twitter @TheWBdotcom and use hashtag #WBSDCC, log on to www.thewb.com/comiccon, and read news at www.thewb.com/blog.
Created annually since 2006 by the Warner Bros. Worldwide Television Marketing unit specifically for Comic-Con, the highly sought-after totes provide devoted fans with a handy carrying case for all the merchandise they take away from the Con and serve as mobile billboards for a selection of the Studio’s key Comic-Con titles.
I keep reading phrases like this:
“one element that has made Comic-Con hell on earth in recent years…”
And I know that time has come to return…
Lots of WIN for Warners…
* Less mayhem at the booth, which people will visit anyway.
* Collectibility among different types of fans creates buzz. Since each attendee gets only ONE random bag, other means must be utilized to get a complete set or multiple bags for costuming. (Check that “bagswardrobe” link above!)
* Every attendee gets one, putting Warners ahead of every other exhibitor on the floor. Every attendee becomes a walking billboard for Warners, both inside and outside the convention center!
* Numerous websites covering the news, meaning EXTRA publicity/advertising, seen by fans not attending the convention (such as myself).
No opinion on most of these, but that Looney Tunes design is pretty uninspired, and says to me, “this new show based on the classic characters is going to be boring”. Instead, howabout Wile E. Coyote and a Comic-Con ensemble (rocket skates, mini-fridge, GPS)? Geez… they could even take the current design, and add a mass of hands, each holding a different object… instead, we get Bug’s carrot. (That is a carrot, right?)
Actually, I’ve found that those bags are the perfect size for transporting matted comic book pages, and they’re nice and strong. See, they do have a comics-related use.
Those look like they’re much smaller than the tent-totes. They look like they’re actually designed for comic-conning, complete with built-in poster tube, and the strap attached behind the tube so posters don’t stick up your arm.
Random distribution turned out to be really popular in terms of the hotel rooms, so I’m sure it will work out great for these bags.
From my one year at Comic Con, I learned people just really like free shit. It doesn’t matter what that shit is, if it’s free and handed out at a booth, they’ll go crazy for it. I don’t think bags handed out when you check in will really attract that much attention…but I don’t really care about a bag to hold stuff. I know, I’m weird like that….
My 2006 Free Blogger Kissing Booth experiment was a tragic counter-example.
@Tom
I participated in that and got a nasty case of herpes. Thanks a lot!
amanda will want a big bang theory one for sure.
I’m usually on the floor for about three minutes before I get “Comic-Con whiplash” from stepping on one of these bags that someone’s dragging behind them. Ban them from the convention floor and the traffic flow will improve almost instantly.
I think Andrew has the right idea. Also – ban baby strollers. Those things cause congestion like nothing else.
FedEx Office should set up a satellite location somewhere in the Convention Center. Place concierge desks near each Hall Entrance as well as on the upper floors, where attendees can drop off bags and FedEx will either store items for the day, or ship stuff home.
Or you send in the 501st to “encourage” attendees not to drag the bags.
Or require all bag handles to fail under a 20 pound load.
Heidi—
I think the “bag you want” is just the obverse of all the other bags— but it’s what’s in front that’ll determine exactly WHICH one’s the better one. (I’d like the FRINGE one, please.)
No way would CCI pass up the opportunity to promote their ‘brand’ on some 125K+ portable advertising that’ll travel beyond San Diego…
I long for the days when the Comic Book Expo used to give out simple Tote bags for everyday use.
Got a lot of mileage out of them taking them everywhere I went.
Where’s the Human Target one?
~
Coat