Monday 30 September 2013

1986: IPC/ FLEETWAY 1987 ANNUALS HOUSE AD

We're deep into "annual season" now so I thought it would be fun to run another of IPC/ Fleetway's ambitious advertising campaigns for their yearly offering.

This four-page feature took over the centre pages of the EAGLE (and, presumably, all the other weeklies) cover-dated 29 November 1986, just as kids across the UK were drawing-up their Christmas lists ("cut this out and give it to your parents").

Of the annuals featured here, I had 2000AD, Judge Dredd, Eagle, Dan Dare (the first time the new Eagle had spun their most bankable character into a separate book) and Battle Action Force.

By the time the annual saw print, the defunct TIGER had already been squeezed off the Eagle masthead but Fleetway were maintaining the old tradition of not allowing the cancellation of the comic to end the lifespan of the annual.  Presumably the logic was that previous readers would welcome the chance to be reunited with a former favourite and - more likely - it assumed that parents would be unfamiliar with the ebb-and-flow of the comics business and - when selecting a gift - they would go with a brand name they at least recognised.  Especially one with the longevity of Tiger.




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