The fact that they reveal his death way ahead of time screams marketing hype and gimmick. It would have been a legitimate shock/twist if it just happened without the publisher making a big fuss about it.
The Death of Superman, despite being considered a mere publicity stunt, was at least unexpected. Clark just died in the pages, the fanfare came afterwards. And they spent a bit of time keeping him dead and dealing with the aftermath (Funeral for a Friend was surprisingly a better read than The Death...)
The other character deaths that came after Superman's (including this one with Archie) are crappy because the stories are no longer even trying to blindside readers. We all know they're being killed for shock value and that the deaths will mean nothing.
