Cracked’s List Shows How A Viral Can Backfire Kris, June 18, 2010 When it comes to alternate reality games, the more believable and interactive, the better. It’s wonderful experience we love, except for when it backfires.I’m not talking about when its structured sloppy, I mean when it is far too real for its own good. Cracked made a list that covers such a topic. The article, “The 6 Most Insanely Misguided Attempts at Viral Marketing“, includes the Splinter Cell bar scene. To sum it up, what was supposed to be a played out as a bar room hold up and rescue got only half way through the 1st act because it was disastrously to convincing. Cops came in, took down the fake criminal, with a fake gun, in a fake hold up. The guy must have been a great actor. Movies have fallen victim to the same problem. Cracked’s list includes the Boston Bomb Scare from the cheap Aqua Teen Hunger Force campaign. Going back to our roots though, The Blair Witch Project viral, the father of all movie ARG advertising campaigns, did pretty gutsy moves. All it took was a website to make the movie convincing enough to be considered as an actual documentary. As a more recent example, Sony Pictures’ 2012 had a very wide and complex campaign. From the Jackson Curtis Facebook Page to Soren Ulfert’s blog and complex messages, it was hard for newcomers to tell if it was true or not. In fact, the marketing company had to explicitly brand their campaign to keep people from thinking the 2012 doomsday myth had been proven real (which some still did). It all comes down to planning, but sometimes even that’s not enough. But keep in mind: do you really want an obvious ARG? Is it better to confirm an ARG? Of course not, it dulls the experience, as we mentioned last year. For all intensive purposes, I say keep it realistic as possible. Not only is it more fun, but you gotta be brave enough to do it. Viral Marketing Viral News 2012Aqua Teen Hunger ForceCartoon NetworkSplinter CellThe Blair Witch Project
“Monsters University” Website Defaced For April Fools April 7, 2013Briefly: We are a bit late on this one, but as the saying goes, it’s better than never. On April Fools, the Monsters University school website was defaced by rival school Fear Tech. The site is back to normal now, but you can see a full image of the destruction… Read More
Explore The Interactive Sheet Music From “A Late Quartet” February 10, 2013To celebrate the recent home release of A Late Quartet, 20th Century Fox has released an interactive piece of sheet music from Beethoven’s Opus 131, the piece featured in the film about members of a string quartet. Each of the seven movements are represented by music and a clip that… Read More
Infiltrate Encom International With A New Tron Legacy Viral Game March 10, 2010March 10, 2010Have you ever wanted to infiltrate Enocm International? Well, now you can. A new Tron Legacy viral game can help you out – if you’re worthy. The game was found within the most recent update on the FlynnLives discussion forums. It leads us to Arcade Aid, which seems to be… Read More