In a surprising twist, it turns out that Warner Bros. isn’t trying to bury Wonder Woman as it’s revealed the studio has spent tons on advertising already.
When the Wonder Woman TV spots came out, I speculated whether we were getting as much Wonder Woman content as we truly deserved and decided that the answer was a resounding no. For a big budget superhero film, the buzz for Wonder Woman seems to be almost nonexistent, save for a few secret corners of the internet where nerds and appropriately gauged feminists intersect.
Apparently, I wasn’t the only wondering where the heck all the Wonder Woman merch and posters and clips were. In fact, a new report published by Vanity Fair explains that the question is on everyone’s mind, and fortunately, they have an answer.
According to the report:
"Let’s look at some data: according to iSpot, which tracks TV advertising, W.B. has spent $3,043,212 so far on ads for Wonder Woman. At five weeks out, the studio had spent $2,645,643 on ads for Suicide Squad. Wonder Woman ads aired during the Kids Choice Awards and the N.C.A.A. finals, and there were promotions for the film at South by Southwest and Wondercon."
Basically, they compared it to Warner Bros.’ last major release in the DC Extended Universe. But it looks like Wonder Woman cost more because Warner Bros. thought it would be a cool idea to air something during the Kids Choice Awards. Newsflash: nobody wanted to watch the Kids Choice Awards — nobody being the 18-45 demographic sitting at the edge of their seats waiting for this movie.
So if that’s the case, Warner Bros. is as Warner Bros. does. Which means, they’re simply fumbling the ball again with the basic misunderstanding of the principle. They took some air out when they opted not to air any trailers during the Super Bowl. And while that would’ve been expensive, it might’ve been a more effective choice than the KCAs. (Yes, I know Chris Pine and Gal Gadot were there.)
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Luckily, they jumpstarted the conversation with their incredible TV spots. And hopefully, this trend will continue for the next five weeks.
Wonder Woman opens in theaters on June 2.