• by Shankar Gupta , August 23, 2006

After placing products in movies and games to reach male consumers, one advertiser is trying the same tactic with another core medium for young men. In July, DC Comics, in partnership with Pontiac, released "Rush City," featuring a new superhero, "The Rush," who drives a James Bond-like Solstice, Pontiac's high-end sports car.

Dino Bernacchi, advertising manager for Pontiac, stresses that his company doesn't look at the deal as product placement  Pontiac had no say in the comic's creative direction; the brand is simply integrated into the character's concept. "This is a DC Universe character, which means it's a full-bred DCU character," says Bernacchi.

With the six-issue comic series, Pontiac hopes to reach young men in a nonintrusive way. "The mean age of a comic book reader is 28 years old," he says. "It's a hard target to reach. This is one way to get to them, if your creative is done correctly."