MPA's new superhero already defeated

Well, this is just ridiculous. The Magazine Publishers Association has just on to the comics bandwagon and was met with disheartening results.

Captain Controversy
Magazine Industry's New Mascot Doesn't Fly Well With Many

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- For a superhero, Captain Read sure needs a lot of people to come to his defense.

The red-caped mascot created by the Magazine Publishers of America has upset some of the association's members-and not because they are worried about the dental health of media buyers to whom the Captain handed candy last week. (He was also handing out fliers detailing research on magazines' effectiveness and accountability.)

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Identity problem
Many a superhero has been misunderstood, and the MPA's boy wonder already has an identity problem. It turns out that, contrary to almost everyone's impression, the superhero's name is not pronounced Captain REED, which suggests a literacy advocate, but Captain RED -- suggesting that magazines are, in fact, consumed by readers.

Some MPA members' beef with the accountability crusader goes beyond his name, and has more to do with the fact that they weren't consulted about his creation. Though an executive at every big publishing house was -- or was supposed to be -- advised of the approaching Captain Read, many said they heard nothing about the character until they read about the $50,000 campaign in The New York Times.

The Captain, naturally, has his supporters. Ray Warren, president, Carat Media Group USA, sees some merit in the effort: "The idea of creating an icon that can get some attention is a good thing."

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