NBC showed up to Comic-Con with a time machine.
Well, a time-machine experience, in the form of an interactive Gravitron to promote the new fall series Timeless, about a team chasing through the continuum a criminal intent on destroying America by changing the past.
The activation—part of NBC’s takeover of GasLamp Square during Comic-Con 2016—created an interactive experience that immersed fans in the show. Visitors first entered a room to get a photo taken in front of a green screen, with an image of then traveling on time superimposed in the background.
The “recruits” then entered a holding area full of newspaper clippings featuring important historical moments.
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Then, they got their mission: to protect the past and save the future.
Cierra Cuellar, promotions coordinator at NBC, explained that although the series brings up a lot of historical elements, the network wanted to promote another aspect of the show in the activation.
“It’s very much about the action and adventure,” Cuellar said. “We wanted to hone in on that. How can we make people feel like they’re traveling through time?”
The answer their marketing team came up with was a Gravitron, where fans were rewarded with a shareable motion graphic photo that captured their time travel experience.
After the ride, having gone through the past where history was changed, they entered a room where the newspaper clippings from the beginning were all wrong.
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While Timeless was the main attraction, NBC also set up a booth where fans could take a shareable photo of themselves in front of a green screen, with a superimposed background that turned them into a character from Emerald City. NBC also took over Tin Fish restaurant to promote the show.
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And they got a taste of The Good Place—where Kristen Bell mistakenly winds up in heaven—with a free fro-yo at a pop-up-shop. Flavors like Aw, Fudge, and Pardon My French Vanilla played up the point that cursing in The Good Place isn’t allowed.
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