C2E2 2012: DC Comics’ “Before Watchmen” Viral Hits The Show Floor Alex Gerage, April 15, 2012April 15, 2012 One would think with The Dark Knight Rises hitting theaters in a few months, DC Comics would pull out all the stops to capitalize on what is arguably the most anticipated film of all time. While Marvel was proudly pushing their film properties at their C2E2 booth by handing out Avengers posters and allowing fans to pose with a faux Captain America shield, the DC Comics area of the convention was almost void of a Dark Knight presence. Instead, the comic giant opted to focus on “Before Watchmen,” a series of prequel comics looking at the lives of the main Watchmen characters. It is a controversial endeavor, but nonetheless has the comic book world intrigued, and it had me intrigued for the way viral marketing is being used to promote it. Hit the jump to learn more.Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to attend the DC All Access: “Before Watchmen” panel Saturday afternoon at C2E2, but Comic Book Resources has a great write up covering what the writers and artists present at the show had to say. If you are interested in the “Before Watchmen” comics coming out this summer, you should definitely check it out. What caught me by surprise though walking the C2E2 floor was the realization that DC Comics has employed a viral marketing strategy to further hype the property. Handed out at the DC Comics booth throughout the day was a faux copy of the New Frontiersman, the fictional newspaper from the comics that pays special attention to the activity of the Watchmen. I learned from others at the DC exhibit that the paper had an electronic version at NewFrontiersman.net. Interestingly, I discovered viewing the version online allows visitors to click on certain highlighted pieces of text and be treated to new content from the upcoming comics, including artwork, scripts, and a grainy but creepy picture of Rorschach. Hurm. While this is not related to a film per se, MovieViral did cover the Watchmen viral activity that emerged prior to the film’s release in 2009. I give DC Comics credit for creating a viral marketing campaign for a series of comic books, and I get the feeling this campaign will become more comprehensive as the summer release for the books approaches. You can view a couple pictures I took of the “Before Watchmen” presence at C2E2 below, along with a shot of the paper version of the New Frontiersman. Look for my C2E2 summary post tomorrow, filled with more pictures from the show and my thoughts on the convention as a whole. Conventions Events Viral Marketing Before WatchmenC2E2DC ComicsWatchmen
Megamind Rally Breaks World Record October 3, 2010Briefly: A few weeks ago, we told you how Dreamworks was looking break the world record for most people in once place dressed as Superheroes to promote their upcoming Megamind. With Will Ferrell in attendance, KTLA reports that they succeeded by having 1,580 heroes Saturday at LA Live in downtown… Read More
Picture Yourself In Monster Form With The “Monsters University” Create-A-Monster App June 7, 2013April 15, 2015Do you want to be admitted into the fabled Monsters University but can’t because you’re a human? Well don’t fret, because now you can transform into monster form using the Create-a-Monster app! Before you start heading over to admissions however, you will want to find out more about this revolutionary… Read More
Viral Marketing The Sick Viral Marketing Of The Film, “Kill The Rapist?” December 24, 2013This is definitely not the most holiday-friendly story, but iRock Films India has created a controversial marketing campaign around their new film, Kill the Rapist?. After the break, find out more info about this horrible film and what makes their marketing of it so completely wrong. Read More
It is a controversial endeavor, but nonetheless has the comic book world intrigued, and it had me intrigued for the way viral marketing is being used to promote it.