• Advertising Age, Friday, July 25, 2008 9:30 AM

Antony Young, president of Optimedia, studies which superhero movie packed the biggest media punch. The marketing behind both the Hollywood franchises was a critical ingredient in their box office success, but they each took very different media strategies.

Batman wins, barely.

Young concludes that "The Dark Knight" displayed innovation, particularly on the Web, and was "much savvier in its PR efforts." The unexpected death of Heath Ledger also significantly boosted awareness of the film, and was handled gracefully. "Iron Man," on the other hand, did "amazing" things with a smaller budget, using promotions particularly well.

Read the whole story at Advertising Age »