By Kofi Outlaw
The Joker virus continues to spread. That is to say the viral marketing campaign for Christopher Nolen’s upcoming Batman sequel, THE DARK KNIGHT, continues to set new precedence for what movie marketing can do.
For those not familiar with the site
WhySoSerious.com, it is the viral website for the DARK KNIGHT film. For some weeks now the site had offered nothing but a pic of a Jack-O-Lantern with a half-marred face (a hint at Two-Face appearing in the film?) However as of today that has all changed.
According to
comicbookmovie.com, WhySoSerious unveiled a Halloween game involving 49 clues “the Joker” had left in 21 cities, instructing people to travel to a certain location, in order to take a picture of a certain alphabetical letter. Viewers then uploaded their photos to the WhySoSerious site, and each photo was assigned a number. Put into numerical order, the pictures would spell out a message and unlock a “prize.” As of a few hours ago, the good people of
Slashfilm.com cracked the message, which reads:
“The only sensible way to live in this world is without rules.”
Oh yeah, that’s Joker mentality all right. And the “prize?” A new Joker pic from the DARK KNIGHT film, as well as a bit of dialogue: “And tonight you’re gonna break your one rule.” Ominous, yes, but was the juice worth the squeeze? You be the judge, my fellow fanboy.
The game also led web-heads to another viral site,
Rory’s Death Kiss where they will be invited to play another game involving taking pictures of themselves in Joker makeup while standing in front of a famous landmark from their city. The game promises another juicy tidbit from the film, should enough people participate.
It seems is if Warner Bros. is pulling out all the stops to make sure KNIGHT is a blockbuster hit (as if we need coaxing) while simultaneously redefining how far movie marketing can go (a disclaimer on each of these “games” says “don’t get arrested.”) We’ll stay on the thread of information to find out what tomorrow’s game reveals. If you hear anything before do, rant back and let us know about it!
Happy Halloween to all, and to all a Dark Knight!