Warner Bros/ESPN
- The Batman will hit theaters on Friday, March 4.
- With the film just days away from being released, the promotion machine is currently full steam ahead.
- From a Bat-shaped calzone at Little Caesars to a “Bing Bong” themed commercial on ESPN, the marketing for the film has gone truly off the rails.
During the NFC Wild Card game between the Los Angeles Rams and Arizona Cardinals back in January, ESPN — a subsidiary of Disney — unveiled the first trailer for Marvel Studios’ (another subsidiary of ESPN) upcoming Oscar Isaac-starring series Moon Knight.
The result was a hilarious illumination of how the supply chain of intellectual property marketing works. They had pregame host Suzy Kolber on national television rolling out talking points for a superhero TV show that she simply did not understand. Play-by-play announcer Steve Levy couldn’t even pronounce Marvel correctly. It was just amazing in the most dystopian corporate way possible.
It’s not just a pizza, it’s a Batman Calzony! Try one for yourself and don’t forget to go see @TheBatman only in theaters March 4th! #TheBatman pic.twitter.com/Hb2Zb0R1Ff
— Little Caesars Pizza (@littlecaesars) January 31, 2022
The Batman, which is set to finally hit theaters on Friday, is going through a similarly hilarious marketing cycle, as companies such as Papa Johns are rolling out horrific-looking Bat-shaped calzones, while networks are rolling out NBA/”bing bong” themed commercials that can best be described as being an abomination. Who, exactly, is ESPN and Warner Bros. trying to entice with this commercial? New Yorkers who were on the fence about seeing Batman but are now convinced because they made a Knicks joke out of it?
https://twitter.com/elleduncanESPN/status/1497220114260836372
In case that didn’t convince you to go see the film, maybe our five-star review of the film — which wonders whether it’s legitimately the best Batman movie of all time — will.
‘The Batman’ Review: The Dark Knight And Gotham City Has Never Felt More Alive
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