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Product placement has become commonplace in movies and TV shows. Now it's coming to comic books -- in part because the industry's two giants, DC and Marvel, are promoting some of their titles as places to reach one of Madison Avenue's most elusive audiences: guys in their 20s. Notoriously hard to reach, young adult males are known to be wary of traditional sales pitches, especially ones that get in the way of their entertainment. "It's the kind of audience that is harder and harder and harder to get to," says Dino Bernacchi, advertising manager for Pontiac.
A casual reader might miss some of the new comic-book product placements, which are meant to be part of the artwork. "When Spider-Man flies through Times Square, you don't necessarily have to draw" the signs that are there in real life, says Marvel's Mr. Maimone. "We can pretty much put anything we want, as long as it's organic and not forced." DC's Mr. McKillips says Pontiac will not have direct editorial oversight of the comic and its main character. "We're not seeking their approval on everything, and they trust us," he says. A Pontiac spokesman says the company is not involved in the creative process.
Alcanzar un mercado notoriamente esquivo y a la vez atractivo para las campañas publicitarias impulsa a las grandes compañías a invertir en éste tipo de avisaje dentro de la industria comiquera...Aquí tienen al objeto del conflicto
Nonetheless, the product placements, which still aren't widely known, have some fans seeing red. Such ads "taint the experience," says Chuck Rozanski, founder of Mile High Comics, a Denver comics retailer. "The comic environment is designed to take you away from reality for a moment," he says. "Here we are thrusting offensive marketing products from our world into this fantasy world."
Nobody loves comics as much as I do, but I just don’t see where the problem is. I think the more hands we can place comics in the better. The same goes for eyeballs. That’s the kinda stuff that makes our business expand not shrink. Even as a small kid I always knew that comics were a business. That’s why they charged me 12 cents for em’. I knew they weren’t free. They had to make money off these things so they could keep printing them. Trust me, today the printing costs are sky-high unlike comic book sales. Business has to be done.
NRAMA: We asked previously about the rash of increased ad counts in Marvel books and you promised a resolution, so to follow-up would you care to comment on this comment/question from "ping33?"”Dear Sir, I would like to inform you that I will no longer be buying Marvel comic books. My wife and I both found the Honda ad in last month's Runaways and other books needlessly aggressive, but I understand that comics are a business and it's the price we pay for commercial art. What I feel stepped over the line was the Nike Product placement on page 8 of Sentinel. As someone who DOES go out to the comic shop and IS paying a premium to read the books when they come out I feel that my custom is neither respected nor valued. I have been reading Marvel books for over 20 years, and it seems to me as though the advertising policy has gotten more aggressive in the last 6 months then it has in the last 6 years. I also read DC and independents and Marvel is BY FAR the worst in terms of intrusive advertising and frankly I have had enough.JQ: Ping, I can certainly relate to what your saying and we’ve been looking to resolve this as quickly as we can which is why I’m proud to say that come December all our books go back to their normal page counts. And in the future, if we ever find ourselves in this kind of a dilemma again, we will make sure that we place the bulk of the ads towards the back of the books so as to interrupt the stories as little as possible.
”Please let me know if you decide to reconsider your current ad policy. But until then I get enough junk mail and advertising in the Sunday paper I don't need Marvel Books as an additional fire hazard.”
What’s positive at the moment is that many of these advertisers are mass market advertisers. This is a big deal for comics because it means that we’re making our mark and moving out of the ghetto. Like everything new, there’s a learning curve involved so I just ask fans to please be patient with us.
Hopefully you find this solution a satisfactory one and you reconsider dropping our books.
Besides, think how devoid of that wholesome Marvel goodness you’re life will become if you drop us. And imagine how much we’ll miss you!
NRAMA: Joe, since you promised a return to normal in December and better solutions in the future, one more question so we can (hopefully) put this subject to rest - from your point of view as a storyteller, what effect do you feel the ads have on the flow of the story?
JQ: Quite honestly, they’ve never been a concern to me because they’ve always been there since I’ve been in comics. It’s only a problem for me if an editor makes a mistake and breaks up a spread that wasn’t meant to be broken.
Ads are ads and I’ve always seen them as being a part of comics. I guess I’ve also become desensitized to them, I mean I do live in New York after all where every available nook and cranny is filled with ads. Just yesterday I had a pal over for dinner and we ordered a pizza. I was floored to see that now the inside cover of a pizza pie box was being used for advertising. I believe it was a liquor ad. The placement was pretty brilliant as we had the box open and the ad just kept staring us in the face.

Escritor: Ron Marz.

Escritor: Dan Slott.