It’s a pretty common occurance to see video ads display before opening up an app or watching video on the Apple iPad. However, in the latest iPad version of Wired Magazine (issue 18.12), a mysterious and unexplained video appears instead, and it’s credited by District 9 director Neil Blomkamp. What could this be?
As you can see above, the found footage-style video shows two kids who drive out to the side of a road and find a nasty-looking dead pig-like creature with a big stamp on it. The stamp says “18.12 AGM Heartland Pat Pend USA” and “US Inspected And Approved”. This looks to be located outside some kind of factory, and the camera points in that direction to make sure we notice it.
So, what is this all for? /Film did some research that makes it look like the beginning of an ARG, which isn’t surprising given the marketing campaign for District 9.
Here is what I’ve discovered. 18.12 is the number of the issue of WiReD that this video appears in. I did some searching and found out that a Beverly Hills-based company named Sable Productions Ltd. filed for the trademark “AGM Heartland” on October 18th 2010. The trademark use is labeled as:
Entertainment services by way of an online website with video, audio and textual content and images featuring characters and storylines about a fictional genetic engineering company that produces genetically engineered and altered organisms
Could this be for Blomkamp’s next film, Elysium? /Film also has some quotes from Blomkamp about the film that seem to both contradict and fit perfectly with the tone, style, and content of this viral video. What do you think the video is teasing? It looks to obviously pertain to genetic experimenting (which is apparently government-approved). We’ll stay on top of this and update you if and when we get any new information.