Superhero Captain America defends the skin care store Kiehl’s in an exclusive, 12-page comic book created specifically for subscribers of the Wall Street Journal (in New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco). The promotion is designed to sell Kiehl’s new men’s anti-aging moisturizer “Heavy Lifting” ($40, 1.7 fl. oz.) to the WSJ readers who spent $1.11 billion on beauty products in 2012. (Saggy skin sings to its owners what Ray Davies sang in the Kinks’ version of Captain America: “I picked you up when you were down on your knees / will you catch me now I’m falling?”)
The sequel to the 2011 film “Captain America: The First Avenger” will be released in April 2014 (“Captain America: The Winter Solider”). It is being produced by Walt Disney Studios (which acquired Marvel in 2009 for $4 billion). Rumor has it two-time Oscar winner Robert Redford, (76), who plays Alexander Pierce in the sequel will apply some “Heavy Lifting” for a product shot. If so, the lotion will have a chance to prove its worth: the Sundance Kid’s famous face is these days a weather-beaten masterpiece.
