Selling the New 52 With Pop Culture References

Etrigan: He's a writer, a poet, a genius, he knows it.

It's the advertising lingo of the 21st century: if you liked book (A), try game (B). It's called predictive advertising, and it's used in some places to better effect than others. Netflix, for instance, is still struggling with the algorithm:

DC is apparently hoping to use the method to sell its new 52 titles, as references to pop culture hot properties are being dropped repeatedly as selling points for new titles. Writer Paul Cornell has referenced Game of Thrones and Dragon Age repeatedly in the push for Demon Knights. From the Huffington Post:

"If you watch Game of Thrones," says Cornell, "or if you play Dragon Age, you'll know where we are. That kind of harsh modern take on medieval fantasy."

And in yesterday's Supergirl piece in USA Today, writer Mike Johnson sold the series thusly:

"We’re really excited about the opportunity to hand this book to a female reader who is into things like The Hunger Games.”

I'm not a huge fan of the unsubtle 'if you like THIS popular thing, buy MY thing!' form of advertising, but it does appear to be part of DC's current marketing strategy - it may even be a necessary evil for the New 52, which at this stage is as much about selling the concept of comics to a new audience as it is about storytelling. What do you think, are the references doing it for you? What popular game, book or film would you use to sell other New 52 titles, like Batwoman, Green Arrow, Mister Terrific, etc.?