This month, DC Comics relaunched all 52 of their ongoing properties. And while I’m not a big comic book fan beyond the occasional piece of film inspiration, the way “The Killing Joke” was a basis for Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight,” I find DC’s decision fascinating and straight up gutsy from a branding standpoint.
The massive relaunch incorporates character redesigns, plot retcons (“That stuff that happened? Never happened.”), and resetting all issue numbers back to #1. “True” comic fans are used to this kind of creative flux at this point, but writers and artists have never tinkered with origins and personalities of beloved heroes on this scale before. There’s already been strong feedback on some of the decisions, but when you’re dealing with characters that are anywhere from 20 to 70 years old, isn’t an refresh or two in order?
These properties are all brands at their core. Some of the most beloved and defined ones around, at that. No matter the incarnation, Superman will stand for truth, justice, and the American way. Batman will always seek vengeance on criminals, but retain a strong moral code. Does it matter if the packaging changes?
This is about bringing some new-found attention to these characters, reaching the uninitiated youth of today, and casting off the weighty years of backstory and brand associations in order to pursue new adventures. Sound familiar? Every legacy brand deals with the same issues.
When Pepsi completely overhauled its brand a few years ago, a lot of people recoiled. “It looks too generic,” “The swoop is weird,” etc. But the new look came with a new idea: Refresh Everything. The rebranding coincided with the Pepsi Refresh Project, a novel take on corporate social responsibility that’s still running strong after years of promotion.
Refresh wasn’t about a new logo for Pepsi, it was about embodying their core values in a more effective way. Young. Fun. Different. Pepsi’s refresh kick-started that new conversation, and helped moved it away from the classic Coke comparison to one about how the brand interacts with the world.
DC is hoping this relaunch can do the same thing for their properties. New looks and new stories that still embody the classic DC archetypes while paving the way for new interactions between their brands and those who love them. It’s no easy feat, but it’s a necessary one for any brand hoping to stay relevant.
