Advertising Genius

I just wanted to share this image with you, since I think it is a piece of advertising genius, all the way from 1987. I found it in an issue of Marvel's X-Men (Issue #213) that I was reading this morning. I am currently working my way through the entire back catalogue of the original run of X-Men just because I can. This advertisement actually appears as a half page ad on one of the advertising pages right next to a real ad. It alludes to a sub plot that has working its way through the series for at least 25 issues at this point, but has yet to come to a head. This is the first example of this kind of subliminal advertising that I have come across in this series, and I am really impressed with the concept. By having this piece masquerade as a real public service announcement in the pages of its own magazine, Marvel draws attention to what is obviously about to become a huge plot point in the series. I imagine at the time of initial publication this ad generated a lot of buzz and hype about the upcoming events. And that in turn would have sold more comic books. Genius, pure and simple.