Using Superheroes to Sell, This Time to Adults

Adam Alter, a professor of marketing at New York University’s Stern School of Business, said he was not surprised.

“Superheroes are culturally ubiquitous in 2022,” he said. “For the past decade-plus the biggest films have revolved around two very large superhero franchises — DC and Marvel — so any brand that allies itself with superheroes is riding the coattails of that success.”

That includes the current hit “Black Adam,” a DC Comics superhero movie starring Dwayne Johnson, which topped the box office in its opening weekend, bringing in $67 million across the country.

But Mr. Alter also said the semi-infantilizing marketing trend could backfire.

“As with any association, the brand hopes you’ll think of superheroes one way, but you may think of them another way,” he said. “These brands hope you’ll see superheroes as virtuous and strong, but you might see superheroes as passé or overdone or silly or in any one of a number of ways that undermine the intended association.”

Still, company owners are willing to take that risk, hoping their superheroes evoke nostalgia and positive feelings.

“A lot of us who are in our 40s look at the world and think being an adult kind of stinks,” said Zack Kinney, a co-founder of the Kings County Brewers Collective. “Superheroes are throwbacks, it’s escapist, it’s fantasy. There is definitely an appetite and a yearning for the superheroes of the world to save us from some impending disasters.”

He added, “I think customers are really eager to gravitate towards brands who make them feel good.”

Mr. Alter agrees that superheroes, especially now, are associated with upbeat feelings.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/10/30/business/retail-superhero-products.html