The Bat-Signal lights up the sky in 13 markets on Batman Day during Super Hero’s 80th anniversary celebration

DC’s celebration for the 80^th anniversary of their legendary Super Hero Batman was a yearlong campaign that crescendoed with a mind-boggling stunt. 13 markets across the globe would display the fictional symbol Gotham City Police Commissioner James Gordon lit up whenever he needed Batman’s help on Batman Day. This fan-first activation has won the top prize in the “Publicity Stunt” category of the PR Daily Awards.

To support the effort, the 80^th anniversary website was decked out for Batman Day, and pre-event communications were distributed to make sure the word got out on a cluttered news day (the Emmys were being presented, among other things). The Bat-Signal turned on like clockwork at 8 p.m. local time in each of the 13 worldwide markets.

Fans could follow the festivities using an interactive Batman Bat-Tracker, which displayed the real-time projections. That same day, the new Batman comic book series talent team was introduced at a standing-room-only panel in New York City.

The event garnered a remarkable 7 billion impressions across print, online and broadcast media. Several countries reported double- or triple-digit sales increases.

Congratulations to the DC publicity team!