Doug Atkinson said exactly what I was thinking.
See, I was thinking to myself, Hunh. Okay. Here’s all these people crabbing (notice I didn’t say “bìŧçhìņg”) about a marketing hook (which, as Kathleen noted, she actually came up with. All I did was suggest it to DC) but that’s all that’s happening. Crabbing. So what else could be offered? “Broad Strokes?” “Lady Killers?” And then I thought, Hey. Wait. So many folks here seem to know so much better what will work and what won’t.
All right: A marketing hook. Five words or less, preferably, to sell the concept of three titles emphasizing female empowerment, at least one of which has a noir-ish tone to it, and all of which have a more risque slant to them in terms of story matter than the average DC book (although not *quite* as risque as Vertigo.) Oh, and it can’t be offensive to any woman anywhere.
Sing out, Louise.
PAD
• 
Not Just For Men (But They’re welcome to watch)!
It’s suggestive, therefore bringing in the salacious male readers, but also suggestive that something other than the usual is going on, as well as stating that these books are meant to appeal to women.
Part of me wants to say ‘Ladies In Waiting My Úš’ but that’s hardly classy.
‘These Aren’t (Ain’t?) Ladies In Waiting’ — nah.
But that’s where my brain’s pointing right now.
“Ladies’ Choice”
“Let Us Entertain You …”
No, I’m not serious.
“Not Just for Men”
Rarely is it a good idea to have marketing hooks that feature negative words such as “not,” “isn’t,” etc. The Oldsmobile ads notwithstanding, it’s generally preferable to state what something IS rather than what it ISN’T.
PAD
“Ladies Choice”
Sounds like a Harlequin romance line. Good angle to take if we want to ensure no male readers.
PAD
“The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”
“The Good, the Bad and the Ugly”
Not sure how it puts across female empowerment, “ugly” serves to objectify women, and the DC lawyers would be concerned about getting flack from MGM/UA.
PAD
How about:
“Three Titles That Aren’t Really Connected In Any Way, Other Than The Fact That They All Have Female Leads, And We Want Your Money”
I think Marvel already used that one a few years ago for a Punisher – Nomad – Something else I don’t remember launch.
I don’t know if this will make sense to anyone other than me but:
“Y the Last Man? Because of Women Like This.”
Corey
Hmm. This’d be easier if I knew something more about the other two books. But it sounds like you want to shoot for the Buffy/Alias/Dark Angel market, so if the other two can be mapped namewise to either Buffy or Alias, you could play off that.
Or how about modifying the Dangerous Curves bit to something like: Comics Noir: Dangerous Curves With An Edge.
Or maybe Wobegon Comics: Where The Women Are Strong. 🙂
Taking Back the Night
or
The Night’s Been Taken Back.
“Unfair Ladies”
“Dark Angels”
“The Ladies Auxiliary”
“Leading Ladies”
“Ladies First” or “First Ladies”
“The Good” refers to good women or heroines, with an apropriate piece of art work underneath it as thes marketing campaigns ussually include art work.
“The Bad” refers to bad women or your basic villian, again with appropriate art.
“The Ugly” refers not to looks, but to acts, or the ugly or dark side of humanity, with a noir piece of art work to go with it.
Showing women in all three stages shows that they are complete human beings and there is your empowerment angle.
Viva la difference?
And now for something completely different…!
Nahh…
Strong enough for a man, but made for a woman..!
Nahhhhhh….
How about…
3 women
Each with a goal
Each with a secret
Each with a mystery
Each unlike any woman you’ve ever known
I know, more than the requested 5 words, but not knowing the other 2 projects it wasn’t the easiest thing to come up with..!
Well, here are a few pittiful efforts. I’ll just type the ideas and let them stand or fall, ’cause if you have to explain ’em, they didn’t work.
Soft Warriors
Signs of the Times
Curved Steel
Dangerous Diamonds
Dangah, dangah, dangah (Okay, this one is a Steve Irwin reference, but it wasn’t to be taken seriously.)
Now, I can’t get his voice outta my head. I’ll be back when I’ve exorcised the Crocodile Hunter.
Chicks With Balls.
I’m sure this won’t offend anyone.
I mean, who will be offended by the notion of women who play football, baseball and basketball?
No one.
How about
Lady Like
or like your heading
Acting like Ladies
“All Chicks — No D*cks”
Marvel would run it.
Dangerous curves sounds right. My sister liked it.
She came up with this (having not seen or read anything about these books):
“Mysterious
Sensual
Dangerous
Catch them.”
Well, here are a few pittiful efforts. I’ll just type the ideas and let them stand or fall, ’cause if you have to explain ’em, they didn’t work.
Soft Warriors
Signs of the Times
Curved Steel
Dangerous Diamonds
Dangah, dangah, dangah (Okay, this one is a Steve Irwin reference, but it wasn’t to be taken seriously.)
Now, I can’t get his voice outta my head. I’ll be back when I’ve exorcised the Crocodile Hunter.
No Y About It, XXTreme!
Howzabout “Underwire, Underfire”?
I had similar questions/concerns about Crossgen’s Meridian. If this was a book that was marketed for women, just what was it about the book that made it “female”? All I really noticed was that the women were more realistically proportioned. Also, the main character’s powers were typically female in that they “created,” while the evil guy’s powers were typically male in that they “destroyed.” Meridian’s Sephie was obviously set up to be a role model for young ladies, and I really began to question just what made a female role model tick. It’s really interesting, for instance, that Sephie’s evil opposite is an aggressive, greedy, destructive *man*. How does that define *her* as a character and as a female hero? Shouldn’t the ideal female hero *not* be defined by men? Shouldn’t there be more to her than that?
So there’s all sorts of issues to take into account when you’re writing a story for (and featuring) women. But when you’re *marketing* a story for women… well, that’s different. You might as well say, “Three great titles featuring women!” or something. None of that “Girl Power!” or “Dangerous Curves!” stuff. That’s how you market for *men*. Maybe you can flip around–attract the women by alienating the men. It’s a risk, and it all depends on just how much you comic book people want women to read the comics. Is it really for women, or is it just something that is “woman-friendly”?
Most of the women comic book fans I know are partial to the anime/manga stuff. If I had to guess, I’d say that women who are inclined to like comic book storytelling are *not* inclined to like superheroes. Hence, the Japanese stuff. Women seem more inclined to read boy’s manga than they do American superhero comics, and I believe that’s because they offer something besides superheroes. So perhaps you should underplay the superhero element when marketing these books.
Otherwise, I’d say come up with a slogan that has more to do with the themes of each book, rather than the mere superficiality of all of them featuring women. Check out some of the ads featuring male characters. Do they always point out the fact that the characters are male? (Other than the “man” part of most superhero names. BatMAN, Spider-MAN…) Draw attention to what makes the books tick, what makes the stories worth reading. Because if all you’re telling me is that the stories feature women that kick butt, I’ve got Buffy on DVD to satisfy that little craving.
Lovely Pretty Girls? What woman could object to that?
Barry: “Ladies Choice”
Peter David: Sounds like a Harlequin romance line.
Luigi Novi: Sounds like a feminine deodorant or protection product.
“Mother, Daughter, Sister, Hero”
One thing to add to the above –
Although “heroine” would be more accurate (possibly . . . I’m not sure about the content of the books involved), “hero” works with the beat better and could be used in a unisex way, I would think.
Just throwing that out there.
Here’s a few:
Femme Tales
Edge Of The Women’s World
Dangerous Mujeres
Femme Extreme
I actually have no problem with “Dangerous Curves”, it puts me more to mind of the Femmes Fatales of the Forties and Fifties than anything else, and those women were usually just as strong as the men (mentally at least, and sometimes physically as well). Besides, “Dangerous Curves” was my friend’s costume this past Halloween and she had a blast with it.
But since PAD asked for suggestions:
“Your mind, your choice”
It ties in to a strong symbol of female empowerment, while also leaving the door open for a campaign encouraging readers (male and female alike) to look for quality (both of story and art) when picking their comics. Plus, we know that at least in “Fallen Angel” the main character will often make momentous choices.
Raphy
[b]Meridian’s Sephie was obviously set up to be a role model for young ladies, and I really began to question just what made a female role model tick. It’s really interesting, for instance, that Sephie’s evil opposite is an aggressive, greedy, destructive *man*. How does that define *her* as a character and as a female hero? Shouldn’t the ideal female hero *not* be defined by men? Shouldn’t there be more to her than that?[/b]
I disagree that Sephie is defined by men. Yes, the villain is aggressive, greedy and destructive and the hero is not — that’s often a distinction drawn between hero and villain, regardless of gender. I think the reason Ilahn is a man is because if the character was a woman, it would be perceived as being too much like a fairy tale. I don’t really see Ilahn’s being a man as being a major part of Sephie’s story, though. It’s a coming of age story combined with “great power brings great responsibility.” The great power in this case really being her leadership role rather than her superpowers.
As for Peter’s challenge, I think we all know that it’s tough to come up with a slogan that won’t offend anyone, but that doesn’t negate our concerns. We all want the book to succeed, nobody’s throwing stones just to be critical — well, most people aren’t at least.
“More Than Just Bøøbš…”
“My Eyes Are Up Here, Pig!”
“Ladies of the Night”
More seriously…
“Ladies Choice”
“Comics – Not Just For Men”
“Not The Fairer Sex Anymore”
How about “heavenly bodies-sinful action”? That may be a bit too risqu
There are three woman right.
This would work for the noir feel book but I am not sure about the other two.
“Manage-a-tois”
It gives the suggestive idea of a threesome without actually saying anything too sexual. To me it seems like this would be the new level of rist these books are taking.
Is this right?
“female empowerment”. Hm, this would fit to all kinds of female heroes, super or otherwise.
It is very difficult to come up with a catch phrase when I know hardly anything about “Fallen Angel” and nothing about the other two new series. From what I know, “Dangerous Curves” might even be accurate if it is indeed about the nowadays usual super slim, super strong (or with other super physical abilities), sexy heroine male readers want to meet in comics.
What interests me is, has this woman a partner, a love interest? What I enjoy is to find a strong female AND male character working together, complementing each other. This attracted me to NF, for example.
A female hero with a difference would be to me someone who is also allowed to *be* female. Are they? I know that you, PAD, can write female characters very well but I don`t know if the same applies to the other two series.
I wish I could think of a different catch phrase but that shouldn`t mean that because I can`t do better I shouldn`t say anything. I think we, the audience, the customers, should be able to say what we think without being told, because we are not also professional writers, painters, whatever, we are not qualified to judge what we bought – or how we feel about certain advertising.
I know this is off topic, but I wonder how many people heard what Stan Lee’s doing:
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=797&u=/eo/20030402/en_tv_eo/11554&ncid=762
“Girls’ Club”
“For Those Who’ll Miss Buffy”
“Velvet Gloves covering Iron Fists”
Oh for crying out loud. Kathleen came up with a good, if slightly overused by the media, name. It doesn’t offend me as the only male shiksa in history 🙂 I don’t think it’ll offend anybody, except probably my cousin, who is a woman, but different strokes for different folks. But I’m tired of being PC all the time. If people get offended, then they get offended, then move on. at least that’s what I’d like to hope. Guess I’m naive.
By the by, I don’t think the *real* Bendis is homophobic. I wonder how he’d feel if someone was using his name.
Personally, I like dangerous curves, and not cause I wanna objectify woman, I think it pretty much sums up what the linking thread between the three titles will be. (And Mr. David, I laughed out loud at the B5 episode with Delenn’s bad hair as did the two ladies I was watching it in my dorm room). We’re just being too darn scared of offending people so instead we insult intellegences by saying that people can’t get a joke anymore. Anyway, that’s a soapbox for another time. Here’s my idea for a pitch thread:
“Sugar, Spice and not so Nice.”
six words, but it’s what I got.
I’ve got one:
“Female Persuasion.”
Sounds enticingly sexual to men, yet inclusive to women and almost empowering.
Plus, it pretty much sums up the point of the launch in the first place…to persuade females to join the ranks of comics fanboys everywhere! 🙂
Um. How about:
* MORE THAN A WOMAN
* ONCE, THERE WERE THREE LITTLE GIRLS…
* AND YOU THOUGHT DC STOOD FOR “DESTINY’S CHILD…”
* FACE IT, TIGER, YOU JUST HIT THE JACKPOT! (heh)
* NOT YOUR FATHER’S SUPERGIRLS!
* WHAT ABOUT THE GIRLS?
* Distaff Comics?
* PERFECT “30”
?
Matt
//\Oo/\\
Vágìņá-lantes?
Not to be a prìçk (well maybe a bit). Peter has a good point looking at all the tag lines you people have come up with, they are really bad.
I can’t believe his line was objected to so much when nobody has a better suggestion.
“Women: Not Just For Breakfast Anymore”
6 words. ÐÃMN!!
“Babes who CAN’T be STOPPED!”
Man, I stink at this.
(Is that the real Bendis, or a nitwit fan doing a lame impersonation?)
Peter: While it’s true that it’s a rule that one avoids advertising a product by describing what it isn’t, using the word “not” can be quite effective.
“Not Just For Men” works as a double negative and creates an intriquing challenge. “Not for men,” would of course be self defeating, but the phrasing “Not Just…” tends towards the inclusive, but without the undesirable effect of disincluding anyone. I honestly think this might work for the books and I’d be glad to cede it to you free of charge.
“Once, twice, three times….”
Leading Ladies
Hëll on Heels
Not to be a prìçk (well maybe a bit). Peter has a good point looking at all the tag lines you people have come up with, they are really bad.
What, nobody likes “Girls’ Club?” I’m offended. 🙂
I can’t believe his line was objected to so much when nobody has a better suggestion.
I didn’t object to “Dangerous Curves.” This whole PC vs. Non-PC stuff started when Elayne Riggs voiced her opinion, and then we had people jumping on the band wagon, and a few people who defended Peter’s line of thinking.
Me? I think you can’t get to PC, because it does end up offending someone. Think back to that Murphy Brown where the FYI staff (and Scott Bakula as that nice correspondent) were at a lecture about how to be PC and then the Audience started bickering with the staff and themselves.
I do believe that there seems to be an inclination in society for beautiful women to be gravitated towards. But since the job of DC is to make money for comics and try to reach new markets, should we condemn them for appealing to a certain sense of superficialness that society has?
Is that the real Bendis, or a nitwit fan doing a lame impersonation?
The real Bendis couldn’t write so poorly if he tried.
How about “Ladies Luck” ?