Visual references to the TV series Lost have begun appearing in several Marvel comics as part of a deal between ABC and the publisher.
According to this network press release, allusions to the show pop up in current issues of several titles, including Incredible Hercules, Thunderbolts, Uncanny X-Men and Wolverine: Origins. References include a Lost poster, the number 6 and the slogan, “Find Yourself.” More will appear in comics shipping next week.
Marvel is no stranger to product placement: Logos for Nike, Coca-Cola and other products have appeared on characters’ shirts, and in the backgrounds, of some of its books as part of promotional agreements. And in 2006, competitor DC Comics released a six-issue miniseries, Rush City, that promoted GM’s new Pontiac.
Season 4 of Lost premieres on Jan. 31.
EDIT: I can’t believe I forgot about the most obvious, and hilarious, example of product placement in Marvel comics: The repeated appearance of Old Spice in Irredeemable Ant-Man #10! Thanks, Russell Burlingame, for jogging my memory.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:58 am
The difference being that no one bought a comic that was completely advertisement (Rush City), but people do buy comics that happen to contain advertisements embedded in the story (Hercules, Thunderbolts, X-Men, Wolverine).
January 24th, 2008 at 11:11 am
ah..that explains why the Lost sign in the latest Deadpool/Cable wasn’t made fun of.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Very true. I didn’t quite understand the “Rush City” thing, but I’d have bought more Old Spice if I thought it would have saved Irredeemable Ant-Man
January 24th, 2008 at 11:20 am
LOST is the best show ever.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:31 am
Ahem.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Yeah, I thought that I’d read about this in the latest Lying in the Gutters, the longest-running comics gossip column.
It seems a little odd to me that Lost is advertising in comics, since every comic fan I know either watches Lost or hates it (and forcing billboards into the background of dramatic scenes of comics might make someone who watches a little annoyed).
I wonder if these will get reprinted in the trades?
January 24th, 2008 at 11:45 am
I’m just surprised Rich wasn’t credited in this blog post at all, even after pointing it out originally.
January 24th, 2008 at 11:53 am
The thing that I noticed was the “Find815.com” bumpersticker on the back of the cab Spidey hitches a ride on in this weeks ASM. It took me a second to realize that it was a Lost thing after going to the website. Of course, my computer doesn’t have sound so I couldn’t really enjoy the site. Honestly, I hadn’t noticed any others.
No pun intended…
January 24th, 2008 at 12:04 pm
In the past any product placement ads in the comics have been kept in for the trades.
January 24th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
I’m a big Lost fan! What comics have participated in the ad campaign so far? I want to get them!
I can’t imagine the placements in the comics “annoying” fans of the show…
With short attention spans, hundreds of channels, and the writers’ strike causing confusion with show schedules, I think the placements are a clever way to remind fans that Lost will still be on.
The ads aren’t necessarily preaching to the converted. Just reminding converts that it’s time to tune in again.
As far as the placements annoying comic book readers who hate Lost… Really? Are the placements obtrusive enough to ruin a story?
If so, the “Easter-eggs” in books like Kingdom Come must have driven you nuts!
January 24th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
I’m glad Marvel is looking at alternative ways to make revenue, but for me this is really a non-issue so long as it remains unobtrusive.
Just like product placements in other forms of media (and ads in general), this will be completely ignored and make it no more likely for me to purchase the placed products.
When will advertisers realize that completely saturating all media forms will completely dull the effectiveness of ads?
January 24th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
Howard, what product placement has appeared in the trades that wasn’t in the original strips?
January 24th, 2008 at 1:47 pm
Love “Lost,” but I agree with the person who said that most comic fans are probably aware of the show. I’d guess a lot of comic readers are fans and a lot of fans are comic readers. Really, what’s the point of advertising it within the comic.
The show is great, but product placement in films, TV shows, or (now) comics kind of annoys me. A writer or artist wanting to do a fun shout-out to the show is one thing, but there are enough annoying ads already interrupting the story in comics today. I really hated those “MAD About Hunger” and bubble gum ads with THE Batman and Cal Ripken. Now ads within the story? Great way to get me to stop buying/reading!
Then you have some ads that are just plain sick. How about those ads that ran in just about everything DC put out a few months for that “Resistance: Fall of Man” video game. Where the boy holding the puppy had his face replaced by some weird, icky alien face? YUCK. Made me actually appreciate Marvel’s ads for Hulk cologne and Spider-Man undies.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:48 pm
Marcus-
I would find Spider-Man swinging by LOST billboards constantly to be really annoying. Even if he got thrown into just one, it would be groan inducing that the script bent to allow that scene. I haven’t seen these ads yet, but the fact that Marvel doesn’t really reference real products except those that pay has the potential to get grating and forced.
January 24th, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I was wondering what that was. I’m reading next week’s Captain America and Daredevil at work from the next week previews and going “What the hell is this number crap?” I go online and they want me to solve puzzles? Screw that. Plus this is about Lost? God that show sucks.
January 24th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
hey, its better then those ‘Go Army’ ads at least…
January 24th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
Two characters in the latest She-Hulk issue have backpacks with the Oceanic Airlines logo on them.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
At least two books next week have “Oceanic Airlines” ads. In What if.. P.Parker is at the OA Booth at the airport, and in Daredevil there is a Taxi with that ad on top.
January 24th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
People hate Lost? Why? I can understand not being into that type of show, but what is there to hate? I don’t get it . . .
January 24th, 2008 at 4:39 pm
Eric,
I very well could own one of the issues with a placement, but I haven’t noticed any, so I can’t comment on whether they seem forced (I wish somebody would make a list, with panel references).
But honestly, because I love Lost, I think the placements are kinda neat. But even if the ads were for Jericho(a show I don’t watch), I don’t think I’d mind seeing a Jericho billboard or a Jericho logo in the Marvel U. However, if I was to follow-up on a web address on a car bumper in a comic book, and it took me to a Jericho site… I might be a bit annoyed.
But really, I don’t think I’d lose any sleep over one product placement per book. I think Marvel is smart enough not to overload a story with the placements…
January 24th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
Marvel can eat my ass for doing this. Thanks for alerting us to which books will be involved - did I read correctly from a comment that it will be in Daredevil too?
Incidentally, I have never watched Lost and don’t feel one way or the other about the program.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Rjackson, c’mon, people hate the show LOST b/c its ripping off the premise of Gilligan’s Island!!!
charley = gilligan
hurley = the skipper
sayed = the professor
um, that’s all I got…
:p
January 24th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
Putting ads into your comics is strong.
Having Spider-Man using and praising your products is Army Strong.
…
…Omigod, someone needs to airdrop a ton of Hostess™ Fruit Pies onto Iraq.
January 24th, 2008 at 5:38 pm
I’m fine with it if it’s just billboards or shirt logos and the like.
January 24th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
Rich, no one cares about your feeble attempts at trouble causing with your mud raking rumor column.
So stop trying to take credit for a story that you post as a rumor, especially when you don’t want people to refer you as a journalist.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
The ubiquitous Old Spice ads in that one issue of The Irredeemable Ant-Man WW Hulk crossover was hilarious.
January 24th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
Here:
http://blog.newsarama.com/2007/07/06/ant-man-and-hulk-old-spice-men/
January 25th, 2008 at 1:05 am
I work at a comic store, and we get certain issues of some titles a week ahead of time, including next week’s Captain America. The only reason I mention this is that a “Lost” advert appears on one of the pages, on a television screen in S.H.I.E.L.D. HQ. I noticed it right away, because the art is different, and the transition is somewhat jarring. It’s a viral type ad, without mentioning Lost anywhere but containing a url to one of their websites. It’s completely out of place and sticks out like a sore thumb and is almost distracting.
January 25th, 2008 at 4:07 am
I hate the Army Strong logo very very much. Didnt like An Army of One as well (Im old school army, be all you can be type soldier) and I acccept you dont like the army advertising in comics. But at least it wasnt in the story.
Turning the actual comic panels into ads make it a bit harder to just flip pass the ads and go to the next story page.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:32 am
Kelsey, I know you care.
And no.
January 25th, 2008 at 8:02 am
What about the colbert report ad in civil war #7? Was that just an easter egg or was that paid for?
January 25th, 2008 at 1:44 pm
swipe file: johnson’s flying friar, and every single superman elseworlds story, not to mention the flying nun.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Can’t wait to see Sally Floyd ask the new Cap, “Do you even have a MySpace account, or watch Ugly Betty on Tuesday nights ABC 9PM Eastern Standard Time with a Feb 26th special episode with guest star Carrot Top as Ugly Betty may have finally found true love this time? Do you?”
January 25th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
I loved the army ads. Apparently the army didn’t know that most comic book readers are either too young, too old, gay, or can’t meet the physical requirements. (I fall into the last category)
The reason why some people don’t like Lost is that the show sacrificed telling a coherent story for focusing on the “mystery” of the island until everyone got board and started doing something else.
January 25th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Since it looks like Rich is watching, can you please change the name of the Swipe thing? Because some of the ones you post aren’t swipes (which to me means that they are near-tracings of the original), but are homages (drawn in a similar fashion or reinterpreted with different characters/situations, but not a near-exact duplication).
January 26th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Wow, that can be annoying. I’m glad I barely watch Television. Hee hee.
January 26th, 2008 at 9:48 am
Wow, I didn’t know they’ve been doing it until recently. But my favorite example of in-house advertising in the books is one featured in Civil War #7.
Did anyone notice what was on the bus when the Thunderbolts were ganging up on Captain America?
That’s right…an ad for the then-new “Colbert Report.”
Awesome! Did anyone else notice that?
January 26th, 2008 at 5:15 pm
Oh, Marvel.
January 27th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
There was also a Crankshaft poster on the wall of young Obediah Stane’s bedroom in the first or second issue of Ultimate Iron Man II. I really wasn’t sure if that was an ad, or just a reference tossed in by the artist, but all things considered… I guess it was an ad.
January 27th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
driveshaft, if its crankshaft, its not lost.. also, rich johnson ripped of the “superman lands on earth centuries before” gimmick.