One of my Facebook friends (hi, Jason!) posted a bunch of ads from the '80s advertising Marvel's G.I. Joe comics. I remember a couple of them from way back then and also remember loving the concept of advertised comics.

 

I think Marvel & DC are really dropping the ball by not having ads for their comics along with the ads for the movies. At the very least, any ad for the movie Green Lantern should finish with "Read Green Lantern stories every month in DC Comics!" There should, ideally, be a very short ad (15 seconds could do) for Green Lantern comics before the feature starts in the theater and on DVD. I'd love to see a dedicated TV spot for the comic but realize that it could easily be cost prohibitive. (The cost of the "G.I. Joe" ads were off-set by Hasbro and by using existing cartoon footage.)

 

As things currently stand, Marvel and DC are just presuming that people will see their respective logos and go look for the comics. There's enough of a history for superhero movies to show that this method just doesn't work. They should be more proactive. Many people are swayed by ads.

 

It's probably not happening now because Marvel & DC haven't been putting such into their contracts with the movie studios but I think that they should. What do you think? 

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  • I like the idea. The only thing is that the stories in the movies and the stories in the comics are often very different. I could be off in this reasoning but I think many of the non-comic reading audience could be dissapointed that the comics don't match up with the movies. For instance, X-men First Class while a terrific movie is nowhere near the X-men comics except for the characters have the same powers and the same personalities. Other than that, totally different. Plus you've got a lot of years worth of continuity for the comics that people won't get right away, the movies not so much. I'm all for people trying new things and new mediums of entertainment. I think Marvel and DC should try to plug their comics more, I'm just not sure it would make a lot of difference. I think more people would probably get the trade paperbacks rather than reading comics on a monthly basis. I could be wrong, though. It's happened before.

     

    However I have noticed that at the big bookstores there will be graphic novels displayed more out in the open. Usually in the section that has books that are currently movies. So that is a step in the right direction.

  • The differences in continuities did occur to me but a) that can be overcome by anybody who is interested and b) it doesn't always apply. Take the various Johnny DC titles that are based on the cartoon versions. At least once per episode, there should be an ad during Young Justice for the comic based on that cartoon. Ditto for Batman: The Brave and the Bold. There's no continuity issues with those two examples and there have been more in the past.
  • I'm not overly familiar with the current cartoons or the kid friendly comics so I didn't touch on them. I will agree with you that during the cartoons would be an ideal time to plug the comics.

    Cavaliere (moderator) said:
    The differences in continuities did occur to me but a) that can be overcome by anybody who is interested and b) it doesn't always apply. Take the various Johnny DC titles that are based on the cartoon versions. At least once per episode, there should be an ad during Young Justice for the comic based on that cartoon. Ditto for Batman: The Brave and the Bold. There's no continuity issues with those two examples and there have been more in the past.
  • I think the G.I. Joe ads were really ads for the toys. There's a page here on how they came about.
  • ...Isn't theree an " FCC rules " legal issue that might , in fact , prohibit advertisments for direct-connected material/merchandise during the show itself ???:--
  • Luke Blanchard said:
    I think the G.I. Joe ads were really ads for the toys. There's a page here on how they came about.

    You're right, they were; the ads for the G.I. Joe comic books were a way to get around FCC limits on how much animation can be used in toy commercials. Basically, they were ads for the toys but called ads for the comics. Here's some more about it at Comic Book Legends Revealed: Comic Book Legends Revealed #281
  • The original Adventures of Superman TV show did a good job of mentioning DC comics, and Disney was a whiz at it back in the day.

     

    ...Isn't theree an " FCC rules " legal issue that might , in fact , prohibit advertisments for direct-connected material/merchandise during the show itself ???:--

    There's an FCC ruling that prohibits advertising toy tie-ins during childrens' programming (supposedly because kids can't tell the difference between advertising and program content), but (back to the original issue) tacking an ad onto the end of another ad should be permissable.

    The montage at the beginning of movies based on Marvel characters does a good job of pointing out the movies comic book roots.
  • ...I've sometimes seen fans of a more Generation Y age than I recell the Hasbro GI Joe comic book ads , which I was , 100% , nonawares of at the time , with me feeling a little left out/" Oh . It's you kids' stuff . " resentful?? , and I've only recently found out very many details of exactly what they were , including what I've found out here...Okay . Thank you . 

      It's interesting to note that , for all it did for the sales of the scurrying-under-the-toy-companies' elephants' feet beetles that are comic book companies , one particular market leader example anyway , I am not aware that even any of the most successful of the following Toy Generation comic books ever were the recipients of such broadcasted largesse . Now I think we may see why !

      Basically , I suppose , plugging the comic book was both?? a way around the FCC's advertising-on-kiddie-shows regulations at that time and a way to test the concept , since I believe GI Joe was the first real Toy Generation cartoon-comic book combo .

      It worked nicely for Marvel's purposes at that time but I guess neither Hasbro , nor any other toy company , felt disposed to be Big Daddy again . And there you have it !!!!!!!!!

  • I think Marvel & DC are really dropping the ball by not having ads for their comics along with the ads for the movies. At the very least, any ad for the movie Green Lantern should finish with "Read Green Lantern stories every month in DC Comics!" There should, ideally, be a very short ad (15 seconds could do) for Green Lantern comics before the feature starts in the theater and on DVD. I'd love to see a dedicated TV spot for the comic but realize that it could easily be cost prohibitive.

     

    This very issue was discussed recently by ComicsPro members. Many of them have tried the "before the movie" advertising in the past. None of them had enough response to justify the expense. Another retailer also did a (non-scientific) survey of people who had just seen a movie, and none of them could remember a single one of the advertisers before the movie at all.

     

    Most, if not all, of the Marvel movies have had "Based on the Marvel Comics character" (or something like that) during the opening title sequences.

     

    Part of DC's relaunch in September is going to include a LOT of advertising in non-comics related media, including TV ads pushing the new line, both in retail stores, and digitally.

     


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  • I'm glad to read that DC will be advertising to people who aren't already fans. "Preaching to the choir" may make the choir happy but it doesn't add to the proverbial congregation.
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