Skip to content
MovieViral.com
MovieViral.com

The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

  • Home
  • Archives
  • Movie & Viral News
    • Cloverfield Sequel
    • Reviews
    • Trailers Weekly
    • Past Viral Campaigns
  • About
    • About MovieViral
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact
  • ARG & Unfiction Forum
MovieViral.com
MovieViral.com

The Latest Viral News for Films and Beyond!

Editorial: Why Sony has done everything right

Nick Butler Nick Butler, June 17, 2009January 16, 2010

If you haven’t read it yet, I suggest you check out Matt’s article entitled “Why can’t Sony do anything right?“. Now, as I do respect Matt’s opinion, I would just like to take a few minutes and explain why he’s wrong. Now even though I think Matt is wrong about his overall view, he does have a few facts in his article, and I’ll start there.

The ugly truth is Sony has handled the ARG (Alternate Reality Game) side of District 9 pretty badly. They began it back in August 2008 by launching MNUSpreadsLies.com, D-9.com and MultiNationalUnited.com. At first I was crazy about it. I read everything I could on all the websites and then I waited. Waiting days turned into weeks, which turned into months. I would actually play off the lack of updates by saying “Well, it comes out in August ’09, so don’t be worried . . .  soon enough we’ll be searching away”. Soon enough came 6 months later.

Now, that’s the bad side of District 9. What you need to know, and what Matt neglects to make his point, is that a viral campaign consists of many aspects- videos, websites, signs, etc. An ARG is only one part of the viral. District 9’s ARG is weak and there’s no denying that, but their viral campaign is tremendously good.

Sony has billboards up in major cities and other advertisements likewise, and that is what I consider to be the essential aspect of a viral campaign. Sony also does break the fourth wall (meaning they reference reality – that it’s a game – within their game) on every website. Although I don’t agree with it, I understand why Sony did it. When they released the first trailer they put the website “D-9.com” on it. Had they not broken the fourth wall, everyone going to D-9.com would’ve been confused out of their mind.

Matt continues on by bashing the Angels and Demons viral campaign, which in my opinion wasn’t much of a viral campaign so I wouldn’t have bashed it as such. Then he moves on to 2012, a movie which is releasing in November. Matt complains about the lack of updates with District 9, but then he bashes 2012’s campaign . . . which was updated almost weekly (although ironically its in a lull). He also neglects to mention the very well designed websites both the District 9 and 2012 ARG’s include, they’re beautifully done.  And Matt, wait until the movie comes out before you start complaining about the plot. Who knows how they’ll keep people alive, why don’t you wait to find out.

In the end, Matt says he’s bashing Sony’s viral campaigns, but he’s not, he’s bashing their ARGs. He neglects the positive points to show you the negatives.

Dear Matt,
Go take a walk in a garden and look at the more beautiful things in life.
With love,
Nicholas S. Butler

Nicks final thoughts… While it is true Sony has some problems operating ARG-style websites, their viral campaigns are working. I mean, why else would the L.A. Times be writing a story on it. Billboards and other signs gets people talking, hence, viral campaign. Oh yeah, follow me on twitter!

Viral Marketing

Post navigation

Previous post
Next post

Related Posts

Viral Video: Thankful Oscars

March 6, 2010March 6, 2010

With the Academy Awards just one day away, the Oscars have a hold on the industry right now. Fortunately, all that coverage can give us some funny viral videos, like this one from Whirled Interactive, which creates a remix of several long Oscar acceptance speeches. With the producers of the…

Read More

Abraham Lincoln Is Now On Twitter

February 11, 2011

It’s not often that you see a serious film test out the viral marketing landscape, so this is a nice treat. Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions have started up a special character Twitter account for Robert Redford’s The Conspirator. This isn’t just any character, though; It’s President Abraham Lincoln.

Read More

Mission: Icefly- My First Dead Drop Experience

November 23, 2011November 23, 2011

My final class of the day let out at 12, just as the countdown ended. My phone and laptop were on their way to being dead and I had no life support. Luckily I was able to get to my university’s computer lab and continue watching the countdown page for…

Read More

Comments (2)

  1. Pingback: Update: District 9 Community Watch | MovieViral.com
  2. Pingback: Update: District 9 Community Watch | MovieViral.com

Comments are closed.

Coming Soon...

Join the MovieViral.com
ARG & Unfiction Forums



©2009-2025 MovieViral.com. The Sometimes Weekly Publishing Company.