1995: The amazing summer of BATMAN FOREVER marketing

It was the best of times… and possibly the worst of movies.

The summer of 1995… 30 years ago .. where were you?

Batman and Batman Returns, both brought to life by Tim Burton, were massive successes. They were dark, stylish, and completely owned the early ’90s. But then came the third round… Joel Schumacher took the director’s chair, cranked up the pink and purple color saturation, and gave us Batman Forever. Enter The Riddler, Two-Face, and a brand-new Batman in Val Kilmer. Oh, and let’s not forget that power ballad: Seal’s “Kiss from a Rose” (or as my younger brain remembered it: “Hold me, kiss me, throw me, and kill me”).

I actually have a memory of seeing this movie at a drive-in theater during the summer of 1995. It felt like it was going to be amazing, based on my pure love of the Batman movies that came before. But… we were a little disappointed. And yet, when you look back now? It ain’t so bad. I mean, let’s be honest, George Clooney’s nipple suit in Batman & Robin was much worse… offensively worse.

But back to Batman Forever—despite not being as critically praised as the Burton films, it was a box office smash. The movie earned over $336 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing Batman film at the time, surpassing Batman Returns. Even with its campy tone with neon lights, people showed up in droves. It had hype and buzz, and it had Seal. And it had marketing.

Oh my God, the marketing.

McDonald’s French fry containers had some of the most beautiful artwork ever put on disposable paper. And I stand by that. Cereal boxes (I remember seeing Batman Forever characters on boxes of Pops) were glowing in the aisles of grocery stores everywhere. We got comic books, promotional trading cards, toys, and even a website for Batman Forever in 1995. A freakin’ movie website in the early dial-up days! And someone screenshotted it, so we can still bask in its pixelated glory today.

Even batteries had product placement!

You could almost say Batman Forever marked the peak of 1990s advertising. It was vibrant. It was loud. It was shameless. And yet—it was all done with some heart. That’s what made the difference. Even the product placement had soul back then.

Let’s go back to those fries again. Just imagine eating your high-calorie McDonald’s meal, chugging a Coke with enough sugar to stun a bull, and staring at that beautiful art on the container. The summer air was thick with joy. Clinton was president and he hadn’t met Monica yet. People were still using pagers. And we all thought this movie was our big summer blockbuster.

Val Kilmer—may he rest in peace—actually did a decent job as Batman. Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face? A bit much. Chris O’Donnell as Robin? Eh. But Jim Carrey as The Riddler? He kind of stole the show. Even if it felt like we were watching an In Living Color sketch crammed into Gotham City. Remember, 1990s Jim Carrey was a whole different type of acting beast, manic, rubber-faced, borderline alien, until The Truman Show reminded us he could act.

Still, I’ll say it again: the marketing for Batman Forever was everything. It was the moment we realized commercials and packaging could become a part of the cultural experience. And the summer of 1995 gave us a taste of that. For some of us, it feels like just yesterday.

But check your calendar, my friends. It’s been 30 years.