WTF?! - DC's Marketing Department

So, uh, I don't know how many of you pick up DC books on a regular basis, but there has been a number of completely terrible advertising campaigns that have been going on these last two weeks - and I assume, will continue for the near future as well.

You've probably noticed the first one, even if you've only seen the covers of DC's comics lately, because every single one has had an ugly and poorly designed banner advertising the new Green Lantern movie, which comes out June 17th.  There was a time when I wasn't sure when that movie was being released, but now I feel like I'll never be able to unknow that fact.

DC Comics: never one for subtlety, apparently.

As you can see, the banner itself is super tacky and ruins pretty much every single book that it goes on.  There are a number of beautiful covers that have been marred by this unfortunate attempt at hype building.

It wouldn't be an issue at all if it only appeared on Green Lantern books, because that would make a bunch of sense.  People interested in Green Lantern comics would probably dig a Green Lantern movie, too.  I can understand that kind of logic.

It wouldn't even be that big of an issue if it only showed up on DC's superhero books.  Sure, it's still ugly as hell, but I can also follow the rational that people interested in one type of superhero might conceivably enjoy another type of superhero.  Again, that makes sense.

The bigger issue for me is that this garbage also shows up on every single Vertigo issue releasing during the campaign.  As you can very well see, Sweet Tooth #22, though it had nothing to do with the DC Universe in any way, shape, or form, also gets the unfortunate distinction of being smeared with that horizontal tripe.  Maybe I'm missing something, but aren't a lot of people reading Vertigo because they're looking for things other than the usual superhero fare that DC offers?

I think it's also worth noting that this type of marketing doesn't really make that much sense, in my view.  I think it's safe to say that most comic book readers are pretty aware that comic book movies are being released on a regular basis.  I feel like, if you're trying to reach a market to get them excited for a comic book movie, comic book readers don't really need to be your main target.  Maybe I'm way off base here, but I knew long before these horrid headliners appeared that there was a Green Lantern movie.  And I'd made my decision on whether I was intrigued by the movie based on information and previews, not some inane graphic.

Oh well, at least once I open my comic book, I can enjoy it without any other out of the ordinary advertising tactics -- OH WAIT!  Spoke too soon, because every single DC book also has this piece of garbage.

Not to be mistaken for a new Superman team.

In case you've been lucky enough to miss what this is, as other sites have reported, DC has inserted a special mini-comic in their books to advertise the upcoming Super 8 movie.  "What's so special about that?" you ask?  Well, it's the fact that the mini-comic is in the exact centre of every single friggin' comic book!  Reading through Batman, Flash, or whatever else, you will be interrupted in the middle of the story you paid for by twelve pages of comic or ads for something completely unrelated.

It's the worst.

I understand that previewing comics in other comics is a good way to inform a reader about something they may not have heard of and might be interested in, but again, it is done so poorly in this case that it is driving me nuts.  I'd ask why they thought it was a good idea to put the preview in the middle of comics, instead of at the end, like they normally do, but I know it's because there's already a preview for The Search for Swamp Thing at the end of all the books!

Two previews per book?  God dammit, DC, why do you do this to us?!

Three different, obtrusive forms of advertising on top of the usual ads that we find within comic books is not my ideal.  In fact, if you add up all everything, including the cover, the Super 8 mini-comic, the preview for The Search for Swamp Thing, and the regular ads, the book has more pages of advertisement than pages of story.  I don't like to know that I've paid $2.99 (or any price, for that matter) to get a product that is over 50% ads.  That's complete and utter bs.  Especially when it is such ineffective marketing.  The cover choice is frustrating, but is ultimately forgivable because it doesn't impact the reading of the actual comic book, but this ad-comic within my comic is maddening beyond understanding.  It doesn't create interest in Super 8, it makes me angry.

I'm sorry if this is all a tad vitriolic, but these decisions do not sit well with me.

What do you guys think about all this?