Color Manila, fun run organizer, has issued a letter of apology to the cosplayers they invited to participate for free at their recent Marvel Run held at the Mall of Asia complex last Saturday, July 7, 2018.
Apparently, cosplayers were disgrubtked over how they were mistreated or given lesser importance as they were left behind, with not even water, before, during, and after the rain even somehow ruined the fun run.
The cosplayers were there dressed up as popular Marvel superheroes to give more color to the fun run, and to cheer up the runners as they go through the task of completing the track.
However, from the moment they were picked up using a closed door truck to get to their post, thirsty with no water to quench, until they were drenched soaking wet in the rain, there were no Color Manila peeps to assist them.
The cosplayers went into social media to air their rants against Color Manila.
Now they have an apology.
"Hi [Name of head cosplayer withheld upon request],
First of all, I would like to express our deepest gratitute to you and the cosplay community for supporting the very first Marvel Run Philippines. We have stressed this message on how important this partnerhip with the community during our cosplayer night and the same message still stands today.
The event wasn’t perfect and has a lot of room for improvement but nevertheless, together we were able to execute this momentous event. The eyes of the cosplayer community in Asian region (and the world) are on us right now and this is a big win for the cosplay community of the Philippines.
If there’s a major area we admit we need to take care of, its the Cosplayer Program. The involvement of the cosplayers is what made this event different from any other Color Manila events. The cosplayers’ contribution make this event unique and fun for everyone. The cosplayers made a lot of kids-at-heart and Marvel fanatics see their dreams become a reality even for just a few hours. We apologise that some of them made the cosplayers feel like mascots but in spite of long lines of runners asking for photos I saw most cosplayers took this role to heart and gladly obliged to their fans’ request. I too was one of of those people who fell in line to ask for a photo with Vision (w/ an Infinity Gauntlet + payong)
We apologize that most cosplayers got wet due to heavy rain during the event and that no tent was available at the race route; some had to go to Petron (Macapagal cor Seaside) to take cover and with weight of the costume, a 500 meter walk must have felt like a travel to Asgard.
We apologize that food & drinks wasn’t given during the event. Its always part of our SOP (standard operating procedure) to provide food & drink to our event partners unless our partners assume that responsibility. I will take a closer look into this issue. I believe Edward (Cosplayer Coordinator)[Edward Limjap, Color Manila Business Development Manager] had a chance to celebrate with most of the cosplayers at Savory Restaurant, but I still wished everyone got a chance to at least spend time with us so we can show them our appreciation.
To correct these shortcomings, Toy Kingdom GC giveaway which was supposed to be given to the winners of our cosplay station, but due to rain, no station was set-up properly, we will simply recognise the efforts of all cospayers and give everyone equal amount of Toy Kingdom gift certificates.
Also, since we have cosplayers who didn’t get a chance to join the post event breakfast, we ask that we schedule another dinner to those who got involve at Marvel Run Philippines- our way of saying “Thank You”
From the bottom of my heart and in behalf of Color Manila we would like to say “Sorry” if we made any of you feel less valued. Rest assured that we treat our partners well and this is a slip.
We would like to hold a Thanksgiving dinner together with the cosplayers. This is our way of asking for a restart, I wish we can just use the Time Stone to alter the outcome but I can’t. I’m not Thanos.
So, I ask you guys to be super heroes once again and accept this sincere apology letter and help me bring order and unity to our worlds.
With much hope,
Jay (Dark Vader)
--
Julius "Jay" Em
Founder / President
Color Manila Events, Inc.
"Hi [Name of head cosplayer withheld upon request],
First of all, I would like to express our deepest gratitute to you and the cosplay community for supporting the very first Marvel Run Philippines. We have stressed this message on how important this partnerhip with the community during our cosplayer night and the same message still stands today.
The event wasn’t perfect and has a lot of room for improvement but nevertheless, together we were able to execute this momentous event. The eyes of the cosplayer community in Asian region (and the world) are on us right now and this is a big win for the cosplay community of the Philippines.
If there’s a major area we admit we need to take care of, its the Cosplayer Program. The involvement of the cosplayers is what made this event different from any other Color Manila events. The cosplayers’ contribution make this event unique and fun for everyone. The cosplayers made a lot of kids-at-heart and Marvel fanatics see their dreams become a reality even for just a few hours. We apologise that some of them made the cosplayers feel like mascots but in spite of long lines of runners asking for photos I saw most cosplayers took this role to heart and gladly obliged to their fans’ request. I too was one of of those people who fell in line to ask for a photo with Vision (w/ an Infinity Gauntlet + payong)
We apologize that most cosplayers got wet due to heavy rain during the event and that no tent was available at the race route; some had to go to Petron (Macapagal cor Seaside) to take cover and with weight of the costume, a 500 meter walk must have felt like a travel to Asgard.
We apologize that food & drinks wasn’t given during the event. Its always part of our SOP (standard operating procedure) to provide food & drink to our event partners unless our partners assume that responsibility. I will take a closer look into this issue. I believe Edward (Cosplayer Coordinator)[Edward Limjap, Color Manila Business Development Manager] had a chance to celebrate with most of the cosplayers at Savory Restaurant, but I still wished everyone got a chance to at least spend time with us so we can show them our appreciation.
To correct these shortcomings, Toy Kingdom GC giveaway which was supposed to be given to the winners of our cosplay station, but due to rain, no station was set-up properly, we will simply recognise the efforts of all cospayers and give everyone equal amount of Toy Kingdom gift certificates.
Also, since we have cosplayers who didn’t get a chance to join the post event breakfast, we ask that we schedule another dinner to those who got involve at Marvel Run Philippines- our way of saying “Thank You”
From the bottom of my heart and in behalf of Color Manila we would like to say “Sorry” if we made any of you feel less valued. Rest assured that we treat our partners well and this is a slip.
We would like to hold a Thanksgiving dinner together with the cosplayers. This is our way of asking for a restart, I wish we can just use the Time Stone to alter the outcome but I can’t. I’m not Thanos.
So, I ask you guys to be super heroes once again and accept this sincere apology letter and help me bring order and unity to our worlds.
Attached is a photo from China News."
With much hope,
Jay (Dark Vader)
--
Julius "Jay" Em
Founder / President
Color Manila Events, Inc.
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
