Comic books, for the most part, is seen as a vehicle of entertainment, with little to no enriching value. It's an idle man's pastime. Non-fans would most likely scoff at the thought of wasting about $3 per book, on which you'd waste 15 minutes reading. Unfortunately, there isn't much ground on which we fans can argue that point. It really is just hobby, and the industry is making millions from our fanboyism. That's why when I saw the We Can Be Heroes campaign, it just made me feel good that DC Entertainment is using its marketing muscle to do something worthwhile.
Now, I've been working in marketing for a few years, and though I can quite easily say I have no idea what I'm doing half the time, I've been around the block enough times to know that campaigns like this, more often than not, are nothing more than an attempt to earn brownie points from the target audience.
Maybe the new Justice League didn't test too well and kids weren't buying their merchandise. What would DC decide to do? They find a cause, and they use the considerable reach of Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, and Time, Inc. to make people identify the new Justice League with doing a good thing, a real world superheroic cause where you, as the consumer, can feel empowered and be a hero, just like the new Justice League. If they're successful, every time you see one of the new Justice League heroes on a shirt or cup or pencil case, you'd recall the real good they did for the world and how altruistic they made you feel and you buy their shit. You know what I say to that - who gives a shit if it's all marketing? This is a genuinely good way to use a popular franchise to do some real good.
This campaign will be supporting Save The Children, International Rescue Committee, and the Mercy Corps. Go ahead and click on those links. You can afford to buy comic books, man. When was the last time you thought about being a superhero and helping out? We eat cheetos until we pass out; we should be able to spare something.
Go to WeCanBeHeroes.org and for every dollar you donate, DC will match it 100%, up to a million dollars. You can buy awesome DC merch, and 50% of your purchase goes to the cause. If you're thinking they should just give the money and stop tooting their own horn, then you're missing the point. Think about what the Justice League stands for. It's all about unity. Even if the purpose is to uplift the image of the brand, as long as it helps some people who really need it, then that should be good enough for us.
To find out more about this campaign, click here to go to the DC blog.