For many years now well-known celebrities have been used to promote brands, and now we have the trend of social media influencers being famous enough to do the same. There are many reasons why a company might use a well-known person to help promote their products and/or services but the fact that it makes them much more relatable definitely helps. However, as well as brands using well-known people to advertise their services, there is a new trend on the rise which is using fictional characters instead.
The Use of Fictional Characters
Whether it is comic book characters, a character that is the intellectual property of a well-known movie or simply a cartoon that is identifiable to the brand, the trend of using fictional characters are definitely on the rise. For example, Born Licensing says that 38% of the British public would rather see a fictional character in advertising than they would celebrities, sports stars or musicians.
However, despite this, there are industries that have been slow on the uptake and in UK advertising between 2018 and 2020, only 1.1% of advertising contained a fictional character. However, it is mostly just the UK and Europe that falls behind on this way of thinking – lots of Asia has been using fictional characters for a good number of years and the US likes comic book characters and superheroes and finds these really relatable.
Which Industries Use Fictional Characters?
One industry that is ahead of many others when it comes to the use of fictional characters is the gambling industry, which has long used characters in both its advertising and its games. There are many theories behind why the gambling industry may be keener to use these than others, but the fact that advertising laws around gambling can be tricky definitely helps.
For example, in the UK you can’t have any person appear in an advert if they look to be under the age of 25 – well, you don’t have that problem with a dancing cactus or a much-loved superhero. The use of cartoon characters helps to get around any issues that may come with advertising and allow gambling companies to get away with a little bit more than they would if they were to use a real-life person.
The online gaming industry is big business and as such, it makes sense for the online gambling industry to cash in on this and use characters that are recognisable. By using comic book characters or movie superheroes they’re helping to make themselves relatable to new customers – and people are much more likely to try a new casino if it is full of things that they are familiar with, as it doesn’t feel so new when this is the case.
What Fictional Characters Are Popular at Online Casinos?
One of the most popular types of fictional characters to use at online casinos are those based on movies. This could be a casino game that sounds remarkably like a well-known movie or feature a character that looks recognisable. For example, there is a really popular Jumanji casino game – played over 5 reels and complete with 36 betting lines, it gives players plenty of ways to win.
Characters from the much-loved film franchise are used and high-value symbols within the game feature animals from the film such as lions, rhinos and pelicans - you can find such classics on this selection of recommended slot sites. The Dark Knight is also a really popular casino game, designed by Microgaming. It’s another five-reel slot game, with up to 243 winning combinations. As you might imagine, Batman features pretty heavily in the game and in fact is the most powerful symbol featured.
Superheroes are big business within the gaming industry and the gambling industry have definitely taken advantage of these. There are lots of games that feature superheroes and especially characters very similar to Iron Man, Superman and Catwoman.
History is big business within the gambling industry as casino games make use of popular times in history such as the Egyptians. The Egyptians is a popular one, as this period in history is well known for glamour and jewels; which is something that people who play casino games would love to resonate with.
In a nod to a love of history, casino games also make a massive use of well-known computer games from ‘back in the day’. The likes of Sonic the Hedgehog and Pacman are well-loved by many generations and as such, they’re a character that casino game designers are keen to include in their gaming creations.
The Future of IP Themed Characters
The truth is that fictional characters will never not be popular. Right from childhood, we all have characters that we know and love, and this isn’t likely to change any time soon. One of the theories behind this is the need for escapism and to offer people something more. When we’re playing computer games, enjoying the casino or watching a film we want a break from everyday life. By using characters that aren’t real life, people get to enjoy a break from the real world and keep their imagination alive. After all, most of us know that we’ll never be able to fly and save people from burning buildings, but isn’t it a nice thought that somewhere superheroes might well exist?
The type of characters that we relate to may well change. For example, in 40 years the brand new characters we’re enjoying getting to know now will become the classics and there will be something new for people to enjoy. This cycle will continue and probably adapt as technology changes and the graphics behind fictional characters continue to improve. There is no guessing which characters are likely to be popular in 40 years but one thing for sure is that there is likely to still be a love of them; even if they’re brand new ones that don’t even exist yet!
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