For the past decade, we've had a big summer blockbuster to look forward to in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but 2020 broke the enduring streak.

With Black Widow delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, Disney-owned Marvel turned its marketing mojo toward a different product it hoped could fill the pop culture gap: the Marvel's Agengers video game.

In a fascinating analysis available only to Adweek Pro subscribers, Adweek gaming expert Mitch Reams looks at how the game's marketers managed to build a wide range of brand partnerships in a bafflingly tough year for grabbing attention.

Most fascinating to me was its retail partnership, in which Vizio agreed to run the game on all TVs at the entrances of Best Buy and Walmart, while the game also had packaging placement on 5gum at checkout. (And taking the gum home would provide a code to unlock in-game content.)

Speaking of which, what's been your summer entertainment replacement for big-ticket tentpoles like Hollywood blockbusters? I just reached the "finally ordered a VR headset" phase of quarantine, so obviously my entertainment vacuum is getting serious over here.

David Griner
Creative and Innovation Editor, Adweek
david.griner@adweek.com

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The spots feature cameos from Paul Revere's heir and the 2019 Teacher of the Year

Don't miss the fully reimagined Brandweek summit, September 14-18, featuring five days of incredible Main Stage sessions, in-depth Masterclasses, exciting virtual experiences, including virtual workouts led by professional athletes, and so much more.

A shortlist of who you could see: 2020 Brand Visionary honoree, Ryan Reynolds, Dwyane Wade, Sadira Furlow of Frito-Lay, Brad Hiranaga of General Mills, Janey Whiteside of Walmart, Carla Hassan of Citi, Ronalee Zarate-Bayani of the LA Rams, Fernando Machado of Restaurant Brands International, Antonio Lucio of Facebook, Steven Tristan Young of Poshmark, Gail Tifford of WW and so many more.

Register now—Brandweek kicks off on Monday. 

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