Product Placement in Marvel Comics

I'm not a big comic book guy, but my guess would be people will react the same way they do with TV. If it makes sense that the character would be doing the particular action/using the product anyway then they'll accept it if its branded. What people don't like is when we're writing in specific unnecessary things JUST for the sake of the placement.

My worry remains the targeting of kids for long term brand loyalty,
when so often that initiates countless less valuable, (therefore harmful),
choices later, without the child>teen>adult (and the parents), ever realizing why.

As a fellow social media comics buff, I'm pretty sure at some point it was done in the 1970s in a much more obvious way - can't think where off the top of my head though...

It carries the same problems as product placement in movies - does it mean scripts are suddenly altered so Daredevil is suddenly cured by laser eye surgery, or Green Arrow switches to guns because he's sponsored by the NRA?

The best counter argument to product placement was always the film Repoman, (pretty much a highpoint for Emilio Estevez), where beer was in cans marked beer, and characters ate from cans marked food, despite being in 1980s America.

Wow. I confess not having read any new material, but I can't think of anything like this in mainstream comics aside from the promotional comics/giveaways. Mentions used in a pop culture context are ok. Lines on paper maybe, but ads in a character panelled world might not be well received.

That it is Cisco/WebEx is interesting, as I just watched the latest 24 episode this week, in which the characters were very deliberate about sending a document to the President via "WebEx." Of course, the familiar Cisco PBX "ring" was a hallmark of CTU for years on that show (not to mention all the good guys drive Fords).

Interesting that it is showing up in comic books. I challenge someone to prove that chris is wrong in saying this was the first such placement.

This seems a natural extension of product placement which started in Radio back in the "golden years" of the 30s and continues today in television and movies.

From what I can tell of the frame, it seems a natural part of the story. I would hope authors wouldn't alter story lines too much just to make an extra buck. So long as their audiences don't object, I can see much more of this happening in future.

Cisco did a huge campaign on TV series 24 before.
Comics placement is completely new paradigm! Many geeks like me are huge comic book fans, who are at least influencer in IT purchase. I think it's a great idea!

This isn't the first time that Marvel's done this. There was a product placement campaign for Old Spice about 2 years ago,and there have been a few others, as well that are escaping me right now.

There was a very minor bit of backlash over it, but didn't lead to any mass abandon that I know of; no kids on YouTube burning their comics, for instance. I think that some readers probably even like seeing real products in the books, especially because Marvel has always had a more real-world-grounded vibe to its universe than DC.

At any rate, you should go back issue diving for Irredeemable Ant Man #10, in which Phil Hester, the artist on the issue, put Old Spice on EVERY PAGE as a joke.

Jeff is right. Marvel has been doing this for a few years now. Usually it's a little subtler like putting a NIKE billboard in the background of a panel. Probably the best use of this technique was the seeding of "Colbert for President" messages during last year's election.

Of course, comic book artists have been putting messages in the background of their art for years. There's many times when a disgruntled artist has put a nasty message about an editor on a computer screen or newspaper in a panel or two.

Purist here. The amount of time spent reading a single issue of a comic is much shorter than the time spent watching a film, so to me the advertisement is taking up a larger portion of my entertainment experience. And to boot, advertisements still appear intermittently between comic pages, unlike film where there are no pauses for "a word from our sponsors" interrupting the continuity. Sure, maybe the camera lingers a little to long on a Pepsi bottle once in a while.

Now that Marvel runs its own studio, and isn't just collecting a licensing fee for the use of its properties in films, I wish they would leave the comic book side to be the storytelling, character-driven operation it's been, and leave the Hollywood product placement people to work on the films. Marvel Studios has been quite a profitable venture so far, so Marvel, please keep making the money over there, and don't waste my panels showing me what detergent Peter Parker uses to keep Spidey's costume so sparkly clean.

@Jeff is correct, product placement in a Marvel comic is something with precedent (heck, even Stephen Colbert counts when we think about it).

I'm a Fanboy and I don't mind the ads as long as it doesn't: 1) Become a central part to the story and 2) Is presented in a subtle fashion.

Nice catch! Why not ask Marvel? They're on Twitter (@marvel) and have always been responsive to my inquiries.

Same as goes with movies; if it's not good enough to make enough revenue, put some Coke and a Smile in it, or a Vaio, or Nokia. If the comic isn't good enough... So a comic that is great or plain artsy; no product placement;
it's all up to the suits to decide...

Advertisers and brands are looking for new ways to get their messages and products delivered beyond the old ways that are now being screened. Why not put them directly in the hands of fictional heroes? Of course, this has been done forever in tv and movies (I think Smallville is the most shameless/shameful example of shilling products). Moving to comics is the next step (or should this have been done long ago?). It's curious that Cisco is now getting aggressive with this, both on screen and in print. They've also got a website site up with a . I wonder if there's going to be a cross over at some point where some superheroes from Marvel begin appearing on this Cisco website!

I suppose I'm ok with it in isolated incidents. But if Marvel accepted wads of cash to turn each and ever hero in to a brand advocate, I'd tune out very quickly. I want Spider-Man beating up bad guys, not taking pictures with his brand new Canon SLR camera.

BTW, sorry for the botched html everyone. Here's the link I was referring to above: http://bit.ly/JKU3Y

I have to agree with Jeff's statement that Marvel has always attempted to inject a certain amount of "reality" into their books to separate them from DC. I mean the original premiss behind their Ultimate line was: What if these iconic characters existed in a world like ours?

What would Ultimate Spiderman had been like if they didn't include pop culture references such as movies, music, or real world products? I think it helps to make connections between the reader and character.

I find myself more annoyed they chose clunky, often broken, platform unfriendly WebEx over a multi platform or web solution like DimDim or GTM than I am about the ad. That's probably because I am not really a comic book fan. Now try and brand my Tweets like that, and baby hear me roar, so to speak. It's all a matter of perspective and what you immerse yourself in as far as the annoyance factor.

The aspect I do find a bit troubling is marketing to kids this way. Better they should have options in future and know how to choose a product than pick one because it was in their face all the time. I've been thinking about marketing to kids in general ever since yesterday's post from @ccsneed about his school assembly's using teasers to get the kids emotionally invested in the program later - not cool.

A lot of people are worry of comics marketing to kids. I know my parents were upset when I bought the xmen's Lockheed blackbird without asking them. What could I say I was a victim of marketing. I know that my friends got hooked bad on the hostess cakes that spiderman was pushing. It messed up his life. The worst was when my junior high lost their weed supply cause the pusher accidentally caught the moral of a Capitan Planet episode, but that is a cartoon so may not count.

As others said above, '24' had the FBI and the White House using a Webex session in their last episode. I kind of rolled my eyes, because I found it hard to believe that the government would be using Webex to aid them in catching terrorists. I usually prefer when the product placement is a little more subtle than '24' and this comic book demonstrate. It makes me respect the product more.

@Khan - you sound like me when I talk back to people about D&D and Heavy Metal, back in the day.

I am a fan boy! Not so much as I used to be but ads have been in comics for years. Product placement is always there. Heck I think even ewhen they make fun of something and call it a product something else but is similiar like calling a iMac and iFruit its the same thing. The question is did Marvel make money off it like the movies?

I'd say good work on Cisco's part (that is, if they actually did pay for ad placement...naivete would say that Jonathan Hickman just wanted to add a realistic element to an unrealistic world...a strong element of many Marvel comics). But if Cisco does plan to place ads in comics this way, I think it's smart. A person who spends time on the internet might see a banner ad for Cisco Webex and pass right over it, but if they see it that clearly and specifically in a comic book that they have set aside time to hold in their hand and read, it'll definitely have a deeper impact on the reader/potential customer. As has been mentioned already, if Marvel keeps allowing it to happen in realistic and unforced situations, I think it's a great idea. In that same vein, there's no reason to use "ACME Deodorant" if a real deodorant like Old Spice wants to give them money to be on the page. To me, that's a win-win for both sides.

Seems to me they've been doing product placement since the War Bond days in the 40's!

As a reader for 30+ years, it doesn't bother me if its seamless. We call our stuff by brands in real life, so why shouldn't Peter Parker talk about his iPod? Just don't give me an audience call out to a product, ie: "hey kids, I love my iPod".

If ad dollars keeps comics in business, I'm all for it.

@Mike B.

Marvel has done paid product placement in the past; I don't think there's any reason to believe this wasn't an example of that.

And I'm not calling Marvel out for doing it. In the face of complaints about the number of ad pages in each issue, doing whatever they can to fund publishing is something to be applauded, as long as it's done right - which it tends to be from what I've seen.

I feel like product placement in a comic book can be less invasive then all the ads that get stuffed into them anyways. With so many comics ending up online, this can be a good way to overcome that obstacle.

The only problem that should arise from this is when a product placement starts taking away from the story.

But it's hard for me to judge that. I am always pointing out product placements on TV that most of my friends don't "notice" at least consciously.

I'm surpised that you didn't notice the "iPhony" earlier in the issue. Honestly, as a dedicated Marvel "True Believer", I've noticed many add and product placements in my books. It's not really bothersome, though.

Usually, when characters are talking on a phone it's always a buttonless touch-screen with a single button at the base - AKA iPhone. Have I noticed? Yes. Did I associate these phones with Apple products? Yes. Does it bother me? No.

The only thing that -is- surprising really, is the low quality of the placement here. Usually Marvel is much more tactful. Not mentioning that I find it hard to believe that the world's premiere spy would be using commercial software to stage his super-hero espionage, this add really doesn't fit in at all.

Additionally, I just read this issue last night (great series with huge promise) and I didn't even notice the add. This was the last page of the book, one page splash. It had a great lead up where you were dying to know who Fury was talking to. Anyone who's a Marvel fan was WAY too pumped to see Dugan to notice the add placement. But maybe that's just me :)

I have to agree that product placement within the story is much less invasive than the ads that get stuffed around them on separate pages and provided the placement doesn't interfere with the story (and this case I don't think it does at all) then it doesn't bother me in the least bit. It is really no different than watching your favorite TV show where all the soda products in the fridge is Coke product - or all the good guys in 24 driving Fords.

My question would be - as product placement becomes more prevalent in comics will it help to offset the rising prices of the books? Would seem a fair tradeoff to me "you want Nick Fury to specifically call out WebEx, then you pay us X-dollars" which in turn keeps the 24 page comic book priced underneath the $3.00 mark.

Oh, believe me, I'm not upset with placement, provided it stays within editorial boundaries. I think it's swell. Make zero ads, and all in-content placement, and I'd be thrilled. In fact, make a page near the very back with a list of URLs calling out the products served in each panel. That'd be lots of value, wouldn't you say?

How about Product Placement in church? I can see the preacher/priest/etc. pausing to drink a Fanta in side profile, sigh with a "That's refreshing," and continue on bettering his flock. Ha.

Product placement to me is just a top of mind tactic. Not much trust is passed along. Maybe it use to be, but these days consumers are pretty savvy and saturated with sponsors and prod placement. The main benefit would be keep that brand in your brain until they get you to pull the value purchase trigger.

The cool thing to me is that they are recognizing the tech geek/comic geek connection. Wonder how much research/testing went into that effort.. ?

I'm worried because the product placement doesn't bother me very much. Ten years ago it would have bothered me a lot. If I had noticed it. Not noticing product placement would bother me. Hm.

It's like the video game ads and product placement that continues to grow (most notably, the EA sports franchises).

It makes perfect sense for companies to go after the readers or users of a relevant product. Why just stick to traditional advertising or social media marketing? There's a host of great ways to get your message out there, and the eyeballs and ears of your audience is getting more receptive all the time.

Just keep it relevant - insect repellant ads in a Spiderman comic book probably wouldn't be a good idea. Well, except maybe for the Green Goblin ;-)

Didn't know Marvel was on Twitter!

Didn't know you were a comics guy! I see nothing wrong with it as long as it doesn't get out of control. Movies do it all the time.

...

Maybe not the best comparison.

VlogHog: Everyone's on Twitter. :) Might I suggest following @agent_m . He works there and is a decent fellow.

Marvel comics have been using product placement for a while now.

for example instead of having spider-man swing across a billboard with an ad for a fake company they know have him swing past a real ad for a real product.

I think this webex thing is interesting because it actually written in the story, instead of being added in later when the art is all done. Something that angered an artist or two (because they don't like the ideal of their art being changed or if they most have the ad they'd rather draw it themselves so it not out of place) and many fans (because those ads seemed out of place)

I think that it's a great idea.
To be able to put your brand name out there in a way that is not disruptive like Cisco did can only make the exposure more effective and remarkable.
However, you need to establish a strong brand first in order to be able to enjoy this type of advertising.

The Heroes webcomic has been doing this sort of thing since near the beginning — as long as the products serve the story and don't mutilate it, I enjoy.