For more than 50 years, superfans of comics, movies, gaming and other popular arts have jetted to Comic-Con International for the community, the content, the cosplay—and the experiences. During this year’s event, July 24-27, EM joined the geek squad for a three-day jaunt through San Diego and its Gaslamp District, all in search of the mega-activations that brands bring to the outskirts of the convention center every year, capturing the attention of some of the most passionate entertainment fans on the planet.
We laughed. We sweat. We screamed. We fangirled. Join us for a tour of the most memorable San Diego Comic-Con 2025 brand experiences and a little color commentary along the way.
ABC
Following the success of AVA Fest, ABC turned its Comic-Con activation into A Very Abbott Block Party with experiences that transported fans back to their school days. Large sculptures of the “Abbott Elementary” cast in Claymation form, inspired by the season 4 promo, greeted attendees at the entrance of the transformed blacktop, complete with brick building facades, greenery, crosswalks and signage with details and Barbara-isms from the series. “Caution: Hot People Get Eaten First” and “Sweet Baby Jesus and the Grown One Too” were some fan favorites.
While jamming to throwback tunes, attendees could cool off with some authentic Philly water ice from The Deli, pose for caricatures at the Abbott Community Wall or hit up the District Approved Pin Pickup for limited-edition pins in the shape of the Claymation characters. ABC also took the school fair to the next level by popping up a Ferris wheel, popular with attendees of all ages.
At the Lost & Found, the longest line of the block party, participants personalized a bucket hat or boombox bag with their name, which was hand-written by brand ambassadors. Attendees then claimed their “lost” belongings once called by megaphone. Plenty of school spirit to go around. (Agency: Creative Riff)
Photos: Courtesy of Disney
ADULT SWIM
Adult Swim returned to San Diego Comic Con with its Pirate Party on the Green but with a feline twist, the Pirate Purrrty. Did the pirate theme mesh well with cats? Absolutely. There were cats galore across jousting, photo ops and inflatables, with a mix of pink pirate décor and touches from Adult Swim’s lineup of shows.
Fans enjoyed digging for mushrooms in a “Common Side Effects” foam pit, with some coming up unsuccessful; bouncing on butts in the “Rick and Morty” Buttworld Bounce House, complete with fart sounds and toilet paper waving in the wind; stepping inside the “Smiling Friends” Break Room; and adopting and dressing up plush guinea pigs, inspired by the upcoming series “Women Wearing Shoulder Pads.” Two paws up. (Agency: GDX Studios)
Photos: Courtesy of GDX Studios
AMC
If we had known ahead of time that the haunted house of our nightmares would be part of AMC’s SDCC activation, we may have backed out. Then again, the name of the experience pretty much laid it all out there: Clown in a Cornfield.
The activation helped promote the Aug. 8 streaming debut of IFC Entertainment Group’s horror film on AMC+ and Shudder (how appropriate), and participants put their fate in their hands as they signed up to interact with Frendo the clown on his cornfield home turf.
The experience began in a town square during the “Founders Day” parade, then right into a nearly pitch-black cornfield maze (fun detail: it was all real corn). With little lighting and a lot of fog, attendees wound their way through while encountering chainsaw-wielding clowns, actors guiding the way to help attendees “escape,” and, appropriately, an escape room experience that had each group that passed through solving clues to defuse a bomb that Frendo set up while waving to the crew from behind a window.
Finally, there was light again. The end of the cornfield gave way to an outdoor carnival celebration for “survivors” featuring some exclusive swag and classic games that earned participants drinks and snacks. We’ll admit it: a frozen mocha and some shark-themed gummies did help our pulse come back down to normal. (Agency: 3CS)
Photo credit: Omar Vega/January Images
BBC
It can’t be easy to narrow down the kind of SDCC experience you want to create when you’ve got over 60 years of content to choose from. But BBC made it happen for its longstanding series “Doctor Who” with the Black Archive, a classified research facility where fans could explore the most dangerous alien relics and uncover forbidden knowledge.
Those interested in gaining access to UNIT’s top-secret facility were first required to enroll into UNIT and receive their official Level 1 clearance badge. Then they were free to explore detailed installations and vignettes from the “Whoniverse,” many of which included easter eggs from the “Doctor Who” spinoff, “The War Between the Land and the Sea,” as well as real props from across the franchise. And there were plenty of creepy monsters to check out along the way, including Dalek Mutant, Cybermen, and the Silence. At one point, we even put on gloves and touched a “Sea Devil’s” egg (spoiler alert: it was gross).
For the diehard superfans, there was also a nighttime activation that took place for two hours each evening of Comic-Con during which the Black Archive was transformed into an escape-room-style mission that had fans interacting with actors and assisting the Doctor by solving clues and discovering secrets from within the Whoniverse. Those who completed the assignment took home exclusive prizes.
Beyond the archive, fans could shop for all-new, limited-edition series apparel and accessories, and take part in a large-scale photo op that placed them inside the Fifteenth Doctor’s time-machine-meets-spacecraft vessel, TARDIS. (Agencies: BBC Studios Global Events; Two Eighteen)
Photos: Courtesy of BBC
DISNEY
From the books to the movies to Disney’s hit series, the “Percy Jackson” franchise has attracted throngs of fans. And at San Diego Comic-Con, they lined up for hours for a chance to partake in an immersive diner experience that revealed clues about season two, which follows the second book in the series, “The Sea of Monsters.” The ocean-themed activation featured a full-blown narrative brought to life by a cast of live actors, supported by an interactive screen sequence. And EM was there to take the plunge.
The journey through the blue and seafoam-green diner began with a personalized quiz taken on a tablet that revealed which of the gods “claimed” each attendee (we got Poseidon, god of the sea, no biggie). Each “demigod” was then handed a Greek drachma coin and invited inside the themed eatery for the “Percy Jackson Experience.”
“We created a quiz where you can be claimed, which essentially picks which god you’re the descendant of,” says Theresa Travis, executive director-marketing engagement and experiential at Disney Branded Television. “People are so excited, and we love that because we feel like people are going to come through more than once. If you take the quiz the first time and you don’t get who you associate with, you’re going to want to come back again.”
Fans could also head to a deli counter where the three Gray Sisters interacted with them and bickered amongst themselves. Other actors dressed as waitstaff then pulled “claim checks” from a bill holder, calling out attendees’ names one by one, and offering them a swag item in exchange for their drachma. A few lucky fans even scored a coin with a special symbol that yielded them a premium item, like an exclusive “Percy Jackson and the Olympians” Comic-Con tee—wrapped up like a deli sandwich.
Beyond the theatrics, Disney offered series-inspired “blue food” items, like a blue wellness shot, as well as an outdoor installation of the Gray Sisters’ taxi, shipped to San Diego directly from production of season two of “Percy Jackson.” (Agency: 15|40)
Photo credit: Michel Guyon/DF Studio
FANDOM
Fandom’s eighth annual Fandom Party took a new turn this year, as the brand partnered with Universal Orlando Resort to promote the new Universal Epic Universe, as well as Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc. The event included open bars, passed bites, small vignettes where attendees could get airbrush tattoos, a “How to Train Your Dragon” photo moment, dancing balloon characters, a photo op with a life-size replica of the Motorcycle Forma from Bandai’s “CODE VEIN II,” and a classic red (actually, blue) carpet where various celebs and characters congregated. The party wrapped with a performance by The All-American Rejects, who played for a fully packed house.
Photo credits: Getty Images for Fandom; Kait Shea
FX
FX always brings its A-game to San Diego, and this year was no exception. The brand’s multipronged activation strategy, which centered on its forthcoming “Alien: Earth” horror series, had something for everyone. And by that, we mean there was an option to engage with the brand without experiencing a terrifying security breach at an alien containment facility.
During the day, FX’s “The Wreckage” invited attendees to explore the mysterious debris from the USCSS Maginot and unearth new details from the show. When the sun set, brave souls could partake in “The Wreckage: Code Red” experience, and we were among them.
Our journey included being sprayed for parasites (a cool, misting moment that felt good in the summer heat), scanning our Prodigy Corp ID cards to participate in the mission, using branded flashlights to search for clues and encountering various alien specimens. The whole experience was driven by a narrative that was brought to life by actors, and things got increasingly intense as the story played out. The final scene included an injured worker who said her coworker, laying on the floor nearby, had been killed by aliens. But in a final jump-scare, the man jumped up from his position with an alien “facehugger” attached to him—the scenario was all caught on a hidden camera and shared with attendees as they left.
FX additionally offered jam-packed swag bags, a branded vending machine stocked with a custom in-world beverage, Hyper Fizz, that was available exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con through a collab with Chain, and an on-site podcast studio, where talent and influencers stopped by to chat throughout the weekend. (Agencies: Creative Riff; Civic)
Photo credits: Araya Doheny; Getty Images; Courtesy of FX
Released during Comic-Con weekend, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” was the theme of the Google Play Rewards Lab activation that invited attendees to take “Your First Steps to Fantastic.” A tunnel housed a larger-than-life conveyor belt that fans stepped onto, while striking their best superhero pose, to be pulled toward the first interactive pod, one of four inspired by the Fantastic Four’s abilities.
Inside “Stretch,” participants inserted their hands into openings in two stations and moved their fingers on trackpads to extend digital Mister Fantastic arms on a screen in front of them, aiming to collect as many Google Play Points as possible in 30 seconds. Then, a conveyor belt led to “Force Fields,” a dark room where attendees waved their hands around, bending light like the Invisible Woman to form the Google Play logo.
At the “Strength” pod, participants stomped on a digital floor to break through three digital layers. And the last conveyor belt took attendees to “Fire,” the Human Torch’s pod, centered around a photo op. After a countdown, fans acted like they were flying through the sky while looking up at a camera suspended above, and the captured content was digitally enhanced to show them blasting off into space in a video clip, which was available for download at tablets.
Lastly, at the “Fantastic Rewards” station, brand ambassadors distributed a fan pack of posters from “The Fantastic Four: First Steps.” During the activation’s run, Google Play Points members got treated to exclusive perks like prioritized entry and on-the-ground rewards. We certainly felt like superheroes. (Agency: Giant Spoon)
Photo credits: Courtesy of Google; Juanita Chavarro Arias
HBO
The ’80s vibes were strong at HBO’s activation for its dark superhero comedy, “Peacemaker,” with a high-energy Peacefest experience featuring headline performances by Steel Panther, who rocked the ’80s hairband style and played hits from bands like Def Leopard and Bon Jovi.
Beyond the stage, fans could check out a few of Peacemaker’s favorite things, like the “Peacecycle” from season two, buy exclusive, series-themed items from the Vigilante’s Hero Sh%t Merch Shop, participate in character-themed photo booths (we snapped one while wearing the “Peacemaker” helmet provided at the start of the experience) and compete with friends at the Economos’ Ops Mortal Kombat gaming station.
And get this: Some lucky fans were selected to meet Peacemaker’s sidekick, Eagly, through a partnership with the American Eagle Foundation. A VIP night featuring appearances from the show’s stars was also in the mix. (Agencies: NVE Experience Agency; RQ)
Photo credit: David Jon for HBO Max
HULU
Large-scale set recreations, vibrant colors, fun music, good eats and a chill atmosphere were all on tap at Hulu’s “King of the Hill” activation, which brought Arlen, TX, to Southern California. The “Hank Hill’s Backyard” bash, which celebrated one of the longest-running animated series on TV, was set up like a cookout, and included classic lawn games, various BBQ bites, cold cans of Alamo (water), a lawn mower photo op and a large screen playing episodes of the series.
The setup additionally included picnic tables, where fans could enjoy their BBQ, a Mega Lo Mart hat customization station that proved popular with attendees, an installation of oversized cutlery and several nods to locales found on “King of the Hill.” (Agency: Creative Riff)
Photos: Courtesy of Hulu
MATTEL
Alas, seats at Mattel’s Malibu Barbie Café, a traveling property activated in partnership with Bucket Listers, were all sold out before EM could snag a spot. But those who did attend appeared to have a pink-infused blast.
The ’70s- and SoCal-inspired footprint featured vast branding elements, a 90-minute seating at a café table (starting at $25.15 per person), a large Barbie x Impala Skate Rink that could be accessed for a $1 charity donation, and plenty of shareable props and scenes, including a lifeguard chair, pink swing benches and a giant Barbie box photo moment. And, of course, there was a sizeable merch shop where the dolls themselves could be purchased.
OLD SPICE
Oh, Old Spice. You cheeky thing.
It’s a well-known fact that many fan con types, particularly gamers, are lazy when it comes to hygiene. So Old Spice, in partnership with DC’s “Superman” film, crash-landed at SDCC with a “scentsational” experience that encouraged attendees to “Smell Like a Hero.”
Taking cues from its “Smell Super” TV spot, the brand promoted its Old Spice x Superman Collection with an activation that gave convention-goers a blast of freshness, all experienced from inside a space capsule installation. The 12-foot-high space craft captured each fan’s “origin story moment” in the form of a photo op, and after pressing a large “Smell Like A Hero” button, a full-size Old Spice grooming product was dispensed.
Fans could additionally snap photos of an oversized Old Spice deodorant, partake in “Superman”-themed photo ops, interact with the Old Spice Guy, score swag—and walk away smelling fresh… proof that not all heroes wear capes.
Photo: Courtesy of Old Spice
PARAMOUNT+
Paramount+’s touring activation, The Lodge had a bigger footprint and more expansive use of its IP this year, and that’s not to mention the brand’s all-new Nerd Out fan fest that took place at the Omni Hotel, and its larger-than-life booth installation inside the convention center (more on that later).
Friendly brand ambassadors helped guide attendees, ourselves included, through each series-themed vignette. Among them—a mysterious vault from “Dexter: Resurrection” that “remembers everything.” Passing by faux stone walls and into the vault itself, attendees could explore detailed display cases of creepy props and a few of Dexter’s “relics” from the show before walking away with a “bloody” branded towel and an invitation to scan a QR code that offers a full 3D virtual walkthrough of the vault and its sinister contents.
It was a very different vibe over at the CBS Sports Clubhouse, a space that showcased the NFL content available on Paramount+, which this year was bigger than ever. Stadium-style seating, displays of all 32 team jerseys, an interactive target practice game played on a mock football field, a foosball table and a sports bar serving up drinks were all part of the mix. And it didn’t hurt that we happened upon a brand ambassador dishing out delicious (and after a day of travel, life-saving) french fries in branded cartons while we were getting our sports fandom on.
Naturally, Paramount+ went all-in on its “Star Trek” IP, too, offering “Star Trek: Strange New Worlds” and “Starfleet Academy” experiences that drop fans right into the action. From a meticulously detailed Starfleet holodeck where fans can snap photos as the “captain,” to smoking green cocktails served by an in-character bartender, to the dreamy Intergalactic Love Lounge that featured ambient nature sounds and faux cherry blossoms, there was something for everyone.
One of our favorite aspects of The Lodge this year, however, is a new offering from Paramount+ that taps into everyone’s favorite new toy: AI. But the engagement goes beyond the buzzword. As part of its “Find Your Mountain” messaging, Paramount+ is giving fans a chance to answer a few simple questions, like their dream vacation spot and favorite Paramount+ series.
Using AI, the shared info then yields a custom land “deed”—the fan’s own chunk of real estate on the Paramount mountain—complete with a custom image and stamped brand logo. Not only was a digital copy sent to participants’ phones via text, they could stop by the Fan Frontier Outpost upon exiting The Lodge to receive a physical print-out of the personalized deed, appropriately rolled up into a scroll.
“A lot of times, there are one or two big properties, but the idea [here] is that we can have ‘Dexter: Resurrection’ in the same spot as ‘Star Trek: Strange New Worlds’ and the same spot as ‘Landman’ and even ‘Mission: Impossible,’” says Michelle Garcia, evp-consumer marketing at Paramount+. “We have this really amazing collection and it feels like such a nice way to bring it all together—and even expose the fans who are maybe coming for ‘Star Trek’ to the other ones—in a way that’s cohesive under the Paramount+ umbrella.” (Agency: 15|40)
Photo credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images for Paramount+
BONUS: We don’t typically cover convention center exhibits, but the Paramount+ Mountain Experience Booth was one for the books. The largescale activation featured a 20-foot mountain installation perched over two giant claw machine games. Fans has 60 seconds to “find their mountain” and score a prize, like the brand’s new mountain-shaped plushie, gift cards and other IP-themed items from series like “Dexter: Resurrection,” “South Park” and “Land Man.”
“It’s meant to be truly interactive, to truly catch everyone’s attention,” Garcia says. “The mountain is the most iconic part of our brand; it’s really synonymous with Paramount+, in particular. So it’s all be front and center in a way that allows people to truly interact with our brand… This is a real connection point, and a fun way to break through on the convention floor.”
Photo: Courtesy of Paramount+
PEACOCK
Ahead of the season two premiere of “Twisted Metal,” Peacock recreated the post-apocalyptic world of the show, bringing in familiar elements like tournament cars and the Sweet Tooth ice cream truck, driven by a murderous clown character. With the new episodes centered around the Twisted Metal derby tournament, fans got to take part in a Bumper Battle, getting into branded bumper cars and riding around as character Calypso hosted the event and commented on the action, heightened by his creepy laugh.
Live actors added to the activation’s immersion, with masked Dolls roaming around the space and Sweet Tooth banging his machete on the bumper car arena’s walls during rounds. Even though Calypso reminded riders that it was no laughing matter, everyone was having a good time crashing cars and causing chaos. (Agency: Civic)
Photo credit: Getty Images for Peacock
SUPERCELL
For its first U.S. activation, Brawl Stars went big. The mobile game’s developer, Supercell, popped up an amusement park on a floating barge on San Diego Bay, and more than 4,000 fans went through the 45-minute immersive adventure that spanned a simulated monorail ride and the carnival game-filled Starr Park, the setting for matches in Brawl Stars.
Attendees boarded the Starr Rail, and a friendly but quippy guide led the 4D tour through Brawl Stars’ animated world, enhanced by large window screens, sounds and lighting effects. The ride was quickly derailed as the game’s mischievous cactus mascot Spike took over the engine room, sending the monorail flying off track. Passengers had to repeatedly tap flashing buttons to power the hypercharge system, and pull brake cords to disengage it.
After a “perfectly planned detour,” the tour guide, along with Brawl Stars characters Colt and Shelly, eventually quelled the situation and got the monorail to Starr Park. There, attendees collected gems and badge stickers by playing classic carnival games, with a Brawl Stars twist. At the end, they were redeemable at a prize station.
Throughout the experience, Fun Enforcers, played by live actors, made sure attendees had a good time, whether they liked it or not (we did). (Partners: GDX Studios, lead agency; Pinnacle; Secret Cinema; Future Colossal; Psyop; Stoopid Buddy Stoodios; Unobtainium)
Photos: Courtesy of Supercell
More from San Diego Comic-Con 2025:
- SDCC 2025: Conveyor Belts Move Fans Through Google Play’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Rewards Lab
- SDCC 2025: Brawl Stars Takes Fans on a Wild Monorail Ride into the Carnival-themed Starr Park
- SDCC 2025: Superfans ‘Find Their Mountain’ at Paramount+’s Lodge
- SDCC 2025: ‘Percy Jackson’ Fans are ‘Claimed’ by the Gods at Disney’s Themed Diner
- SDCC 2025 Video Tour: Activations from Disney, Paramount+, FX, Adult Swim and More
- Watch The Brief, Live! July 2025 Edition: San Diego Comic-Con
The post San Diego Comic-Con 2025: The Big Experiential Recap appeared first on Event Marketer.
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