Win with the Guardians of the Galaxy

With the success of the first movie, it was pretty much a given they'd market the next one out the wazoo. But are they doing it right? Maybe it's Disney sticking with what's come before but the tie-ins just don't feel out of this world.

First up, we've got Doritos. They've partnered with the Avengers before. Every Gaurdian is featured on a different flavor. Inside each bag is a code you can redeem on the Doritos site for a chance at prizes when you Choose Your Guardian.

Each character has a three tiered group of prizes associated with them. One code puts you in for a shot at an instant win Level 1 goodie. After four codes, you unlock level 2 prizes and another four gets you in to the "most epic" Level 3 prizes. Not bad if you eat a lot of Doritos, at least you get something out of it. You know, aside from the nacho cheese dust under your fingernails.

Next, Mars Brand Candy!

I'm not usually one to collect movie tie-ins unless it's something interesting. Give me kids' meal toys or collectible cups and I'm all in! Food packaging? Not so much these days.

You'll find the Guardians on packages of Starburst, Skittles, M&Ms, and Juicy Fruit gum. That's right, I said Juicy Fruit. I remember seeing Civil War on Juicy Fruit. With the candy promotion, you can enter to win a free movie ticket. Snap a pic of your purchase receipt and upload it to the site. In the next day or so, you'll get an email telling you you didn't win.

I don't usually buy much candy but I guess the movie hype has me jonesing to buy something other than action figures. That and the fact that when I went to look for M&Ms and Skittle, "I'm Not In Love" by 10cc was playing in the store, so I took that as a sign.

The packages will be going in the trash when I'm done. I thought there would be a code inside to enter online for the contest but there isn't which is really the only reason I bought them. Uploading a receipt just isn't as exciting as entering a code.

And finally...

In the most unusual product tie-in I can think of: Guardians and Hanes. Buy a pack of underwear or t-shirts and you get a pack of four promotional trading cards. If that's not enticing enough, you get a free Marvel movie rental on Vudu!

I get partnering with food items. It might be something you were buying anyway or you might impulse buy when you see it, but underwear? And it's just regular underwear, they don't even have the characters on them. Those, I would buy! As far as I can tell, the trading cards are the same ones that are being released alongside the movie but with a promo number stamped on them.

I guess what I really want is a fast food tie-in. With Avengers and Star Wars Rebels, you could get a drawstring bag at Subway. Sure, it's more practical for a kid but you can't really put it on your desk. I want toys!

..and maybe a Lucky Charms-like cereal with marshmallows shaped like character heads, Baby Groot, and the Milano.