Showing vulnerability has never been so profitable

Revitalization of your brand through storytelling can be done in ways that might not be the most logical ones that will come up in the first moments of brainstorming. One of the most radical twists in storytelling history was done by maestro Frank Miller in the 1986 remake of Batman, The Dark Night Returns.

This script twist fueled a revival of film industry, comics, graphic novels, merchandise and games, and was responsible for a complete review by all publishers of their superheroes already published. A whole range of new, grim comic characters were developed to follow the trend of humanizing the heroes. The film series kicked off in 1986 by director Tim burton, following the revived attention for the character. It kept filling cinemas around the world until 2005 with Batman Begins, earning over $ 374 million worldwide, adding a registered merchandise sales of $ 245 million that year.

What was the approach which got superheroes back in the game? The Dark Knight Returns shows Bruce Wayne at 55, retired from crime-fighting for ten years. Levels of crime are rising in Gotham City, influencing the quality of life of its inhabitants. Wayne has an epiphany, finds retirement is against his instincts and becomes Batman again. The key scene is read when Batman sits on his bed-side, wounded from a fight, heavily overweight, his mind full of doubts. Not an image you would stick on a superhero.

The immense popularity of The Dark Knight Returns launched the character of Batman back to a central role in pop culture, but also (along with Watchmen) started the era known as the Dark Age of Comic Books (also known as the Modern Age and the Iron Age).

The seedy versions of Gotham and Batman successfully updated the character's identity from the campy Adam West version remembered from the 1960s Batman TV series, and proved critically and commercially highly successful. A valuable lesson learned: humanizing the brand brings the story closer and rises the levels of engagement. You might want to show the sensitive sides of your brand for acceleration of user engagement next communication season.