[...] (For a baseball tie-in, this sounds cooler than a faux-political ad.) [...]

This kind of thing can work andd work very well indeed. Certainly more than a “This comic book is available. Buy it!”

You do need the investment to see it through, however.

Either that, or its simply sustaining ads that supplement the current feel of the Marvel U landscape.

But that’s just me.

I think Marvel needs to step outside of their safe zone a bit more to get people reading their books again. I mean, outside of all the comic to movie adaptations, there is nothing pulling me into reading a Marvel book. Sure, I enjoyed the movies about as much as I enjoy eating a bowl of Fruit Loops: I’d rather have a nice hot plate of eggs, bacon, and toast, but it’ll do in a fix.

Once Marvel Studios has exhausted their main lineup of characters into movie form, I’d give them about a 5 year life span before people stop caring.

And, as you say, to mention this is a goddamn comic that it’s promoting so you know what to buy.

I dunno… on the one hand, I think it’s cool to see comics advertised on television, but this whole viral marketing craze is really getting on my nerves. Most people now seem to think it just means they can make so-called ads that never actually get around to selling anything (like the Gates/Seinfeld Microsoft ads, which I heard today are already ending). Viral marketing is supposed to be a way to stir up some initial curiosity, not be a means to an end on its own.