Selling stuff is rarely this fun… By CHRIS FRANKLIN A while back I wrote an article covering 13 live-action superhero commercials. It’s always fun to see our favorite four-color heroes interpreted by actors in real costumes, both the good and the bad. But there’s no denying that animation is a medium that comics translate into with far more ease. Just like comics, though, there’s no shortage of different interpretations and styles these short films can take. And the subject matter can range from a hero hawking their own self-branded wares, to a heartfelt public service announcement warning kids about the dangers life may throw at them. What follows is a list of interesting ads featuring our favorite superfolk, some you may remember, and many of which you’ve probably never seen. You can clearly see the influence of the comics, and in some cases actual work from creators who have a history with these characters in print. There’s plenty more where these came from, but these 13 campaigns rose to the top for me: — Superman, Tennessee Tuxedo, and Soaky the Kid. During the 1960s, Palmolive produced a series of popular Soaky bubble-bath bottles in the shape of kid-favorite characters. In 1965, they added the Man of Steel, and produced a commercial paring him with the now mostly forgotten Saturday morning star Tennessee Tuxedo (voiced by Don Adams) and their own mascot, the Soaky Kid. Superman sounds a bit like original radio and Fleischer shorts Superman voice actor Bud Collyer, but this was a year before he and the character returned in Filmation’s New Adventures of Superman series. That year, Superman and his super-powered brethren replaced funny animal characters like Tennessee Tuxedo as the standard Saturday morning fare. — Captain America: Energy Saver. The U.S. Department of Energy enlisted Captain America to help teach kids about conserving power in their home. In this 1980 ad, created by Marvel Comics Animation in a style similar to the later Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends, Cap battles the Energy Wasters: Thermal Thief, Wattage Waster and the Cold Air Crook. These villains wouldn’t look out of place in issues of The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe! Despite his ears being incorrectly colored blue, the Star-Spangled Avenger looks good and makes me wish we had gotten a Cap cartoon series at the time. Cap’s...