A new outreach ad aimed at getting more participation in and contributions to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund will begin running as a PSA in comic books starting in late July.  Created pro bono by the Bonfire Agency, the ad, which features the powerful headline, “They’re Not Just Looking for Bombs Anymore,” draws attention to the case of an American who faces serious charges in Canada after Canadian customs officials found comic art on his laptop that they considered child pornography (see “CBLDF Defends American Charged in Canada”).

 

Bonfire’s Steve Rotterdam, former V.P. of Sales & Marketing for DC Comics, created the copy for the ad: “We felt that the comic book in a briefcase stopped on an x-ray conveyor belt together with the headline, ‘They’re Not Just Looking for Bombs Anymore,’ summed up the situation very succinctly and powerfully.”

 

Most major comic book publishers will be including the ad in their comics and related banner ads have been created to run on comic news sites, publisher Websites, blog sites and other fan destinations.  Rotterdam noted, “I was blown away by the fact that the CBLDF had never advertised to potential members and contributors in the most likely place to find them—the comics themselves.  When Ed (Catto) and I formed our agency, we were determined to help change that.”