Learn the Math Behind CBS Show Numb3rs Dan Koelsch, February 21, 2010 There are a lot of procedural shows on right now, shows in which a problem is introduced, investigated and solved all within the same episode (think CSI, Bones, almost every one hour show other than LOST). Many have gimmicks to try to separate them from the bunch (his partner is a psychic!), and one of my favorite gimmick procedurals is Numb3rs on CBS. There’s a nifty website created to supplement the show. The show centers on the Los Angeles branch of the FBI, where agent Eppes (rob Morrow) has a brother who is a math genius and professor at Cal Tech. Each episode has Professor Eppes (David Krumholtz) using advanced mathematics to help solve a case. For us regular folk, this stuff goes over our head, but if you are interested in the math, Wolfram (makers of software Mathematica) have teamed up with the show to help you out. Wolfram’s Numb3rs website goes through each episode and explains the mathematical principals the characters are using or talking about. The well designed site is meant to look like a case file being opened, and you can watch videos that show the math. For a much more detailed look at the science, each concept has a link to it’s own Wolfram page. It’s nice to know that the characters aren’t talking gibberish, and this kind of stuff can actually work. Numb3rs airs Fridays at 10/9c on CBS. Viral Marketing CBSNumb3rsNumbers
Apollo 18: New Documents Revealed August 21, 2011Two weeks ago the Apollo 18 viral campaign started back up, and now we have three new documents that seem to be innocuous, but since one looks to be in Russian, we can’t be sure. Check out the updates for the lunar thriller after the break. Read More
“Silicon Valley” Landing Page Is A Hilariously Effective Marketing Gag April 23, 2014Generally when a marketing team has a technology-based film or show, they would embrace those themes by creating fake websites, landing pages, etc. We’ve seen in it a bit of David Fincher’s The Social Network, and now we are seeing it again for HBO’s latest comedy Silicon Valley. The show… Read More
Fan-made District 9 Sites September 13, 2009April 20, 2010UPDATE: Fookinprawns.net is now live! Just like I thought, it has a soundboard of Wikus and our favorite lines from the film (including alien speech). The site even has T-Shirts to buy, so check it out! What is the ultimate type of viral marketing? Getting fans to do the advertising… Read More
The show’s “Chain Factor” ARG is still my favorite example of integrating the viral with the tv show. Took the premise from the Primacy and extended it seamlessly (which is pretty difficult, after watching the episode’s resolution) onto the web and into the real world.