MARKETING

… Take the Mark 1. Immortalized in 2008’s Iron Man as sort of a Ned Kelly mech suit, it started life during ‘Tales of Suspense’ #39 back in 1963 and it, like, wasn’t great. Sure, it got the job done: it made the wearer less susceptible to getting shot a bunch and kept Tony’s heart from failing, but some of its other features were objectively less super. By way of example, it let him stick to the ceiling by attaching suction cups to his hands. Because Tony Stark is a genius, that’s why.

from What Marvel Wants You To Forget About The Avengers

For over a century, Ned Kelly has been used to promote, compel, and inform consumers on a range of goods and services. During the siege at Glenrowan, newspaper proprietors knew putting Ned on the cover would draw crowds and sell extra copies. Ned, thanks to Sidney Nolan’s stark imagery, became an integral part of Australia’s sales pitch to the world at the Sydney Olympic’s opening ceremony. Ned demands attention, Ned creates controversy, and Ned sells.