Product Placement - Radio, Television and Publishing - Comic Publishing

Comic Publishing

South African football comic Supa Strikas uses product placement within its pages to promote a variety of brands, and allow for the comic's free distribution to its readers around the world. Product placement occurs throughout the publication; on the players' shirts, through placed billboards and signage, and through the branding of locations or scenarios.

Globally, Supa Strikas receives the majority of its support from Chevron, which sponsors the comic series through its Caltex and Texaco brands. These brands are displayed as the shirt sponsors for the Supa Strikas team across Southern Africa, Central America, Egypt and Malaysia.

In other markets—where Chevron lacks a presence—other headline brands sponsor the team's kit, including Visa in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania; GTBank in Nigeria; and Henkel's Loctite brand in Brazil. In addition, other brands also receive advertising in the comics and animation, with their logos included as both billboard and background advertising, and through the branding of locations and scenarios. These companies include Metropolitan Life, Nike, Spur Steak Ranches and the South African National Roads Agency, among others.

This innovative approach to comic publication has seen the brand grow dramatically over the last few years, with Supa Strikas now reaching an estimated ten million readers a week worldwide. Today, the comic is available across Africa (Botswana, Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Réunion, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia); in Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Panama); in Europe (Finland, Norway and Sweden); and Asia (Malaysia).

The Supa Strikas model has shown considerable successes, leading to the creation of a number of other titles which use the same system. These include cricket comic Supa Tigers, which is distributed in India and Pakistan, and Strike Zone, a baseball comic based in Panama.