Supergirl and Krypto Turn Toronto Harbour Into Metropolis — OOH Stunt Breakdown
Warner Bros. Pictures Canada and 23rd St. Diner ran a three-day stunt over Toronto Harbour and Lake Ontario ahead of Supergirl's June 26 release
June 19–21: Supergirl and Krypto appeared to fly over the waterfront and tow a disabled 125-foot, million-pound-plus vessel to shore, live, in front of whoever happened to be on the boardwalk
The waterfront's already a summer draw, so the audience was free. No media buy needed
Concept by 23rd St. Diner. Build and production by WXM Media (also credited as WXM Tech), the same shop behind May 2026's Mortal Kombat II activation in Toronto. Two waterfront builds from the same vendor in two months — keep an eye on them
The rescued vessel was 125 feet and over a million pounds, so this needed actual marine logistics: towing, positioning, a safety perimeter, all hidden under the illusion
Mike De Candido, partner at 23rd St. Diner: "Great superhero stories make people look up, literally and figuratively. One minute you're walking along the waterfront, the next you're watching 'Supergirl' and Krypto pull a stranded boat to safety."
Ran a full week before release, giving earned media and social clips room to circulate before opening weekend
Your Brand Integrated Marketing Communications ran the creator programme (seeding creators on-site)
Allied Integrated Marketing handled press outreach
Postmedia handled national promotion
Four vendors on one stunt is the real story here if you only ever see the finished clip
What: Supergirl and Krypto's Marine Rescue
Where: Toronto Harbour and Lakeshore
WXM Media and 23rd St. built the spectacle into a spot people already gather, then let the creator programme and press outreach do the rest. If you're scoping something similar on the Toronto waterfront: budget for marine permitting if a vessel's involved, plan a week of lead time before release, and expect more vendors on the invoice than the finished stunt suggests.
Other superhero OOH stunts worth knowing:
Superman's Shard sculpture (July 2025) — DC Studios suspended an 11-foot, 120kg Superman sculpture inside The Shard's spire in London, visible up to 40 miles away, with two Daily Planet-branded helicopters circling. Tagline: "Look Up." Same move as Toronto — turn the film's theme into a real skyline moment instead of a poster
Deadpool & Wolverine's Heinz tie-in (2024) — leaned on Wolverine's yellow suit and Deadpool's red suit looking like mustard and ketchup bottles.
Chronicle's flying people (2012) — Thinkmodo rigged RC planes to look like flying humans over the Brooklyn Bridge and other NYC/NJ landmarks. No announcement, pure guerrilla. The film made roughly 8x its $15M budget
