Major ad drive for Batman game

The Dark Knight won’t be hiding in the shadows over the coming weeks as Warner kicks off a big marketing campaign for Batman: Arkham City.

The publisher will be targeting male gamers with a campaign that spans TV, print, online, retail, outdoor ads – and even UK?roads and supermarket shelves.

Central to the plan will be heavyweight TV advertising, with 60, 30 and 10-second spots running across a mixture of channels, including ITV, C4, Channel 5 and Sky Sports. These will run around male-focused programming, such as Champions League and Premier League matches plus comedy shows and films.

In addition to ads in specialist gaming magazines, Batman will appear in national press around launch as well as on a Shortlist cover wrap with a print run of 500,000 copies.

Online, the game will take over the homepages of IGN, YouTube, SkySports, Team Talk and Football 365.

Warner has even arranged on-pack promotions with Rustlers and Kick Energy. This means more than six million Batman-branded microwaveable snacks and three million drinks cans will be made available between now and Christmas.

Other retail promotions include a wide range of POS, including 3D Batman figures that can swing from the ceiling, and branded delivery trucks featuring the game’s striking monochrome art. Meanwhile, Arkham City inserts will be included with all Batman films through Warner Home Video this Q4.

Playable code of Arkham City has been present at both GAMEfest and Eurogamer Expo, and the game is the headline sponsor of October’s MCM Expo in London.

The anticipated Batman: Arkham City is due for release on October 21st.