DC Comics: 'The New 52' Extended Commercial

DC Comics is changing the face of the DC Universe whether you like it or not. The comics don't come out until Justice League #1 on August 31 and then the rest beginning on September 7. Readers have been voicing their opinions based on covers and solicitations for the first three issues. Many are excited for the potential fresh start while others are a bit skeptical over some the apparent changes.

With the state of the comic book market, it's really no surprise a move like this was made. I assume DC felt the need to give their books a boost. People have been talking about the relaunch. Having each series relaunch with a new #1 makes it more appealing to new readers. That's a good thing. On top of that, DC has even released a commercial. The LA Times' Hero Complex had the first look at it two days ago (but the 30-second video wasn't embeddable). This morning I saw an extended cut via Slash Film.

I'm not sure where the 30-second commercial will air but it is a great idea. Comic books do need more exposure. Think about how many people watch comic book movies, cartoons and even play comic book video games. Most of them don't read actual comics for various reasons. A commercial has the potential to remind people that all this superhero stuff is seen week after week in comics. There's no need to wait for the next blockbuster film or new season of an animated series.

How is this attempt at a commercial? It's okay. Basically it has the look of a motion comic. There is some cool art and effects and I actually don't mind motion comics. I did find this approach a little odd since Dan DiDio, DC Comics Co-Publisher stated he wasn't a fan of motion comics at San Diego. The choice of music felt a little generic but I kind of liked that as well. It's clearly attempting to give the whole production an edgier feel and says that this might not be your father's (or grandfather's) comics.

I would love to see more commercials. It was brilliant that there was an ad for Green Lantern trades at the very end of the movie. But that is something that should be at the beginning of movies with the other trailers. A commercial could easily be attached to movie prints, forcing theaters to show them. Hopefully we will see more of them. They should also appear on an DC animated movie Blu-rays and DVDs. Why not throw one on the next home release of a Harry Potter or similar genre-type movies?

This might not have been the best attempt at a commercial but there is so much potential here. If the decision has been made to finally try reaching out to other types of audiences, regardless of how we feel about some of the changes, we need this to be a success. Comics have been floundering with sales at a pathetic state and if this can bring in new readers, I am okay with seeing some minor changes occur. Of course once the new #1s start coming out we can make our official decision over all of this.

Looks interesting at first look.

That is really cool

This trailer looks great and will definitely help increase sales for the New 52. Is this the first time comic books have been advertised this way?

I am surprised this has not been done before, films, games and novels all get adverts so why not comics? there is more to look at in a comic than a novel after all. 
 
the decision has been made to finally try reaching out to other types of audiences, regardless of how we feel about some of the changes, we need this to be a success.  Truer words have never been said.

Yeah, comics need to try harder when advertising. Think about what magazines outside of regular comic related mags would spread the four colored gospel.

OK... that was pretty awesome.

@spiderbat87: Marvel has done some 'trailers' before like for Incredible Hulk #1, Invincible Iron Man #500 and Spider-Man Big Time. Problem is, where do those run? Places like Comic Vine. Great for us but we're already buying the issues. They need to be seen elsewhere.

That was pretty cool.

That's pretty epic. 

@spiderbat87: Actually they do ever since youtube got popular. Most are much better too. I only look forward for Scott Snyder's books to be honest. DC has the heart in the right place with getting new fans, but they are doing it in a very erratic way:
 
1.- They are alienating a lot of regular comic book fans, the ones responsible for the real, steady money in the business.
2.- Kids today don't like to read ANYTHING AT ALL!!!
3.- This really won't work if your outlets are comic book stores and the digital market. How many 9 year old kids do you know that hang at your local comic book stores? How many do you know that have an iPad or an iPhone?
4.- DC's current editorial staff is really sad, most of their claims to fame are legendary screw-ups from the 90s (Bob Harras and Jim Lee contributed to Marvel almost dying in the 90s with their tired "reboot" ideas, remember Heroes Reborn? Jim Lee's Wildstorm suffered from this too, his only real success as a publisher can be attributed entirely to Alan Moore; ABC. Dan Didio, well, I am surprised he has a job in the comic book industry. Eddie Berganza took the flagship Superman books and made them drop dramatically...). If it was up to me, I'd reboot the editorial staff.
5.- How many writers in the top of their game do they have? Scott Snyder, Grant Morrison (arguably), maybe Gail Simone. Let's face it, most of this books will be cancelled after a short while. At the top of my head I can name more from Marvel: Dan Slott, Matt Fraction, Ed Brubaker, Rick Remender, Mark Waid, Greg Rucka, Chris Yost...
 
I really wish this whole idea works out and more people get into comics and stuff, but facing the facts, to me, it seems highly unlikely.

Id completely fallen off the comic book trail years ago and was only reading the odd Manga here and there. I heard about Flashpoint and the DC reboot and i was intersted again, i know a lot of people are upset but its got me looking back into comics, enjoying them like i used to so im sure others feel the same. I saw that ad lastnight and shared it with everyone i could get ahold of, ive got people who didnt used to buy comics looking to buy the first lot that launches so thats got to be good right?

I don't really agree with what your saying, not every one is alienated by it, some are looking forward to it and I know plenty of people with Ipods/pads  Did you just say Matt Fraction is at the top of his game? 0_o

2.- Kids today don't like to read ANYTHING AT ALL!!!

Man, DC needs to advertise the digital side of the relaunch. Do they not know how big devices like the Ipad are these days? Hell, that should be one of the main things they show to the mainstream audience. Not everyone who might be interested will want to step into comic book shops. 
 
Other than that, it's cool. I'm really anticipating this and what Marvel has to offer in September.

The hubris of adding "The worlds greatest creators" at the end of the video is astounding.  Coming from a company who is currently struggling to stay both relevant and in business, it's no wonder they are doing so poorly.  That entire video is a love letter to the creators themselves.
 
I'd hate to think that the total implosion of DC is what it would take to make these guys realize that the comic universe does not revolve around the creators but the readership.   The arrogance...

Let's just hope that the relaunch event won't occur again if the comic book sales are still low. Otherwise, it's pointless. Think about it. You're talking about people who are not into comic books at all. They have other interests besides reading comic books. So how's that going to help? Will advertising help new readers read the new 52? Yes. But what about people who are not into comics? Anyways, we'll see how this relaunch goes.

They used the "Smallville" outfit to showcase Superman?
 
That'll get non-readers either curious as to why he's just wearing a shirt and jeans, enough to check it out... or get them with a "WTF are they doing with his classic duds" that they don't even bother.
 

They need to get this trailer in front as many people as possible. It would be great if they could bring comics back into the mainstream and make it less of a niche hobby.

Not bad really as far as commercials go.  I guess if sales are sinking that anything is possible to try and boost the numbers.  If this helps DC then awesome.  If not...then its once again indicative of how this New 52 will do more harm than good.  I half expected "Requiem for a Dream" to be the theme song for this, but the problem with that is, Requiem would sadly be used for ANY big "universe changing" event.  And the time counts down to August 31...

Wait-- Superman takes on the mob, Batman owns half of his rogue gallery and Wonder Woman... deflects an arrow.  She doesn't even catch it. How are we supossed to root for her if the only ability she displays is the power of preventing hunting accidents? 

Why is it they never advertise my most anticipated of the 52? 
 
Justice League Dark.

My favorite ads.

BB

Superman looks beast. 

While really not too terribly keen on motion comics, here the concept works in my opinion. Why not a commercial for comic books? I say go for it. Instead of having to scroll through countless ads selling crap, this is a welcome respite. I didn't mind the music. Could have used something from Metallica or Judas Priest as the sound but this worked for me. Cool.

This is exactly what DC needed to hype their initiative. It stinks that the current continuity is getting the shaft, but at the end of the day, a commercial like this is exactly what DC needed to get the ball rolling. Well done.

GO FLASH AND NIGHTWING!

Meh, not that impressive. And seriously why comics have to be so dark? I miss escapism. I mean the world is ending around us, I need some place nice to hide

That was pretty awesome.  They have commercials for books, so why not comic books.  I also like how they included a lot of the more obscure titles there at the end.  I never figured Voodoo or Grifter would get that much exposure.  I can't imagine where it'll play, especially being two minutes long, but it's still a good idea.

It looks like a menu screen of a DVD, pass.

I didn't see Static in the commercial. It's smart though of DC Comics to advertise in commercials especially for the reboot.

just because dc's being talked about by people, which is mostly a poor response, does not make this reboot in denial a fantastic idea.

i can talk about oj simpson all day long, but it doesnt make him a great human being.

a little generic, but it's designed to appeal to people who don't read comics, and I think this would definitely sell to the casual crowd. 
 
@Wandrecanada said:

The hubris of adding "The worlds greatest creators" at the end of the video is astounding.  Coming from a company who is currently struggling to stay both relevant and in business, it's no wonder they are doing so poorly.  That entire video is a love letter to the creators themselves.  I'd hate to think that the total implosion of DC is what it would take to make these guys realize that the comic universe does not revolve around the creators but the readership.   The arrogance...

Marvel used to make commercials like these all the time on their old website back in the early 2000s.  They made one for their Cap story at the time (where he outed himself as Steve Rogers), or where Banner tried to shoot himself and became the Hulk, or the (at the time) new Elektra series, etc.  I loved them so much I made one for the Ultimate Gambit story at the time.
Glad to see this back.
Still not sure about the new 52 at DC, but I guess I'll have to hold my worries until the stories actually come out.
So I guess this commercial didn't convince me exactly.  And if the new 52 is actually what I am afraid of (rebooting so many characters and stories leading to many of the classic stories never happening, like the Wolfman Titans stories) then I might buy DC comics even less than I do.
Again, I will hold my fears until the books come out, so probably nothing will sway me except preview pages.

It's a good idea, but there just isn't enough information in that commercial and it'll be quickly dismissed by most viewers who aren't familiar with those characters or with how the comic book industry works. 
 
This is an example of how their ad should be: 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAYLSfeE0wI

I watched half of the commercial and decided to stop.  The idea is great for people who are outside the comic book world, but I felt that this was pretty spoilery.  I would imagine they're pulling art directly out of the new #1s coming out. 
 
Superman playing with a giant wrecking ball will no longer be a surprise for me.  Spoilers are the fucking worst. 
 
Commercials are a good idea, but avoid ripping art directly from the comics you're trying to sell.

They should make an official animated one too. :)

It is cool but they could have done better.

The music was incredibly repetitive. Nice idea though. Felt like a voiceover of Batman and Superman calling for the formation of the Justice League would have greatly improved it.  
And as far as playing these trailers before films is concerned, it's a GREAT idea. But it's up to the theater management if they want to play any trailers that are attached to films. Movie theaters are under no obligation to play the trailers that are attached when the print arrives. So there's a fair chance they will just get trimmed off and junked. 

whats with the t-shirt and jeans on superman,.....that not his new costume,right? cant wait for that batman\green lantern tension,   i like them both

@The Black Hood

@JDevil