I struggled mightly with purchasing a Christmas gift for my 16-year-old baby brother. I don’t blame the canyon-like age difference that separates us, rather the fact that I’m sports obsessed, and that the only sport my brother has showed any interest in is curling. And despite Sam’s initial promise with brooms and stones, he only lasted two years at the curling club before retreating to his preferred comics, anime, and video games.

So what do we have in common, besides the Hasenauer nose bump and a bad Canadian-like accent? Thanks to a collaboration between Stan Lee and the National Hockey League, Sam and I may finally have common ground.

The Guardian Project logo

The Guardian Project begins its roll-out with the new year. (Image: The Guardian Project and Rocket XL)

Comic book legend Stan Lee – creator of the iconic Spider Man and my brother’s favorite, Iron Man – has helped design 30 new superheroes that correlate with the 30 NHL teams. Entitled The Guardian Project, the multimedia enterprise will begin its roll out with the January 1st Winter Classic in Pittsburgh, PA, culminating in a project-wide unveiling at the NHL All-Star Game on January 30th. While the superheroes’ adventures will take place independent of an ice rink, each superhero will take on elements of their related franchise.

Targeted towards the somewhat ignored “tween boy” demographic, the project is sure to have a reach beyond that particular age group. Comics have experienced a resurgence over the past few years, with my brother being a perfect example. In addition, the team behind The Guardian Project has already jumped head first into the social media waters, with plans to engage both hockey and comic fans via Facebook, YouTube and other platforms.

Both hockey and comics are genres willing to take risks to re-establish themselves amongst the American public, making this collaboration one to watch for pop culture and sports fans alike.

Below is a press release regarding how The Guardian Project will be using Facebook to order the unveiling of the superheroes and more information about the overall program.

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‘GUARDIAN 30 MATCH-UP’ LAUNCHED TO UNVEIL EACH HIGHLY ANTICIPATED SUPERHERO FROM THE GUARDIAN PROJECT

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN TO IGNITE THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE’S MILLIONS OF FANS IN ULTIMATE FACE-OFF

LOS ANGELES, CA (December 21, 2010) – Guardian Media Entertainment – the partnership created between the National Hockey League (NHL), SLG Entertainment, LLC and Stan Lee (Chairman, POW! Entertainment, LLC) – today announced the launch of the GUARDIAN 30 MATCH-UP (www.guardianproject30.com).

With the highly anticipated unveiling of the 30 individual Guardians within the Guardian Project, the Guardian 30 Match-Up is a Facebook application that will enable fans to determine the order in which each team’s Guardian will be unveiled. Voting at www.guardianproject30.com will continue throughout January, with fans determining which team will win each match-up. The winners will be revealed daily, beginning with a face-off between the “Penguin” vs. the “Capital” to celebrate the 2011 Bridgestone
NHL Winter Classic® match-up on Saturday, Jan.1, 2011. The last winner will be unveiled on Sunday, Jan. 30, when all thirty Guardians will come to life during a special presentation within the 2011 NHL® All-Star Game presented by Discover in Raleigh, N.C. 4 p.m. ET live broadcast on VERSUS in the U.S. and on CBC and RDS in Canada.

Created and developed by Stan Lee, Tony Chargin, EVP of GME Creative Affairs, and Jake Shapiro, each Guardian has been derived from its corresponding hockey team, complete with special powers representative of each team and city. Every day for the first 30 days in January, the winning Guardians will be revealed at 8pm ET with an exclusive image designed by legendary comic book artist Neal Adams along with their bio.

With an initial plan to reach an all-family audience and narrower target demo of tween boys, GME hopes to bring a new audience to the NHL, while engaging the existing, established hockey fan base through a compelling tale of good vs. evil.

“Guardian 30 Match-Up is the latest strategic marketing tactic for reaching our core youth demographic of Guardian Project fans and building excitement around the unveiling of Guardians throughout January,” explained Brian Jennings, EVP, Marketing for the National Hockey League, L.P. ”Introducing the Guardians to fans through Facebook, a proven social media platform for engaging NHL fans, is an ideal way to set the stage for the exciting unveiling we have planned during the All-Star Game.”

“Our entire business model is focused on creating content for the ways in which entertainment is consumed today,” added Adam Baratta, GME Chief Creative Officer.

“Social media is a very important medium for reaching and engaging our core demographic which is why this was such an organic initiative for the launch of the Guardian Project brand.”

Fans will be able to vote for their favorite teams and learn about the Guardians at www.guardianproject30.com and by going to the “GP Vote Now tab of www.facebook.com/NHL.

In addition to heavy social media outreach, Guardian Media Entertainment (GME) will drive awareness and exposure for the Guardian 30 Match-Up through the airing of promos in NHL arenas, on the NHL Network™, on VERSUS and on NHL.com, etc.

About Guardian Media Entertainment, LLC.
GME will serve as the company responsible for the creation, development and exploitation of The Guardian Project. The executive team includes Howard Baldwin, Chairman, Mark Terry, Chief Operating Officer; Adam Baratta, Chief Creative Officer; Tony Chargin, Executive Vice President of Creative Affairs; Aldo LaPietra, Executive Vice President, Production & Business Development; and Jennifer Sprague, Senior Vice President, Marketing & Communications.

About the NHL:
The National Hockey League, founded in 1917, is the second-oldest of the four major professional team sports leagues in North America. Today, the NHL consists of 30 Member Clubs, each reflecting the League’s international makeup, with players from more than 20 countries represented on team rosters. According to a Simmons Market Research study, NHL fans are younger, more educated, more affluent, and access content through digital means more than any other sport. The NHL entertains more than 250 million fans each season in-arena and through its partners in national television (VERSUS, NBC, TSN, CBC, RDS, RIS, NASN, ASN and NHL Network™) and radio (NHL Radio™, Sirius XM Radio and XM Canada). Through the NHL Foundation, the League’s charitable arm, the NHL raises money and awareness for Hockey Fights Cancer™ and NHL Youth Development, and supports the charitable efforts of NHL players. For more information on the NHL, log on to NHL.com.

About Stan Lee
Stan Lee, Founder, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of POW! Entertainment, LLC Stan Lee’s famous co-creations include Spider-Man®, The Incredible Hulk®, X-Men®, The Fantastic Four® and Iron Man® among many others. Lee, known to millions as the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel® Comics to its preeminent position in the comic book industry, first became publisher of Marvel® Comics in 1972 and is presently the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel® Enterprises, Inc.

About SLG Entertainment, LLC
Formed in 2008, SLG Entertainment, LLC is a company whose vision is to merge the worlds of entertainment and sports by creating, developing and exploiting original superhero content derived from the intellectual property owned or controlled by professional and amateur sports organizations. It’s owners include, Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment, award-winning producer Adam Baratta, Aldo LaPietra, Mark Terry, co-creators Tony Chargin and Jake Shapiro, and Academy Award nominated producer and former owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Howard Baldwin.

About POW! Entertainment, LLC
POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, LLC, an advanced media and entertainment company, was founded by world famous comic book and motion picture icon Stan Lee, together with award winning producer Gill Champion and intellectual property specialist Arthur Lieberman, Esq. POW! Entertainment’s principals have extensive backgrounds in the entertainment industry encompassing the creation, production and licensing of original intellectual properties including some of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. POW! Entertainment, capitalizing on this combined expertise specializes in franchises for the entertainment industry, including animation and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, video games, merchandising, and related ancillary markets all of which contribute to global expansion.

NHL, the NHL Shield and the NHL Winter Classic word mark are registered trademarks and NHL Network is a trademark of the National Hockey League. All Rights Reserved.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by a PR team related to The Guardian Project, Rocket XL.