Another conceptually co-branded moment, courtesy once again of our eyes and our ears and our "man on the ground" here at urbanhonking.com/cobranded, K. Mike Merrill.

Though Mike claims this is only an "almost co-branded" moment, it is actually akin to the sort of claim I am making about co-branded advertisements for films. The characters in the films, or the actual films themselves, are not conventionally thought of as "brands." However, it is my contention that they behave as such.

In this photo, the man is combining two distinct brands, with their own recognizable traits and associations. The storm trooper suit "means" something to those who see it. The Elvis glasses too. In business parlance, these "meanings" are called "brand associations."

It is, of course, not a perfect fit, and I am still trying to work out whether or not a movie can really be a brand.

Thanks also to sturgill for taking the photo at Comic-con.