Cross promotion is defined as "the cooperative marketing by two or more companies of one another's products." Well, here's a really good example of Marvel and ABC doing just that. In a moment of totally shameless and hilariously forced cross promoting, General Hospital, the long-running soap opera on ABC, plugged Doctor Strange for Marvel. It goes without saying that the moment catches you off guard, but you'll just have to see this one for yourself.
On a recent episode of General Hospital, Ned Ashton (Wally Kurth) and Olivia Falconeri (Lisa LoCicero) took a moment to talk about their relationship (or lack of one, I guess. I'm not a superfan of General Hospital.) As one does when one tries to rekindle a romance, Olivia brought up Doctor Strange, a really hot date movie coming out in theaters soon.
"Well you know, Doctor Strange is about to hit theaters pretty soon," baits Olivia, hoping to work her own sort of magic with Ned. Ned doesn't miss his window of opportunity. A woman doesn't bring up a hot ticket movie like Doctor Strange unless she's down to clown,"Well, you may be surprised to hear this, but, if I can't see that movie with you, I won't see it," he replies, "It won't be the same. I don't want to pressure you, it's just, how I feel."
Ned is, of course, lying because there's no way he's going to pass up the chance to see Benedict Cumberbatch fly around and throw magic out of his hands. But it doesn't matter because Olivia runs into his arms and they share a passionate kiss, Doctor Strange saved their relationship. Hooray!
I'm not quite sure who this promotion is for. General Hospital viewers are not exactly the target audience for a superhero blockbuster. Is any fan who saw this episode really going to think, "Hmmm, Ned and Olivia really seem excited for this Doctor Strange. I should check it out too,"? Marvel has basically already won over its target demographic, so this doesn't seem all that necessary. Also, did they decide to do this just because Strange is a doctor? Would they have done this for Captain America if he were Doctor America?
General Hospital is the longest-running soap opera in television history. Originally airing in 1963, General Hospital has over 13,000 episodes under its belt, with dozens of actors and characters having passed through its doors.
Doctor Strange is bowing in just a few weeks on November 4, so if you're in a troubled relationship, here's your chance to turn it all around.
