14
Dec'10

TRON Week! – Day 2 (raffle closed)

   Posted by: thebruce

Flynn Lives!
TRON week continues! Welcome to Day 2! One free screening has come and gone, and I was among those fortunate enough (an understatement) to experience ‘the grid’ at Toronto’s open screening thanks to the Flynn Lives.

This is a movie worth seeing, at least 9 times. It is the double rainbow of win! It’s over 9000!

As for the raffle – entries are coming in droves, if yesterday was any indication. I have to say it’s wonderful to see people passing on some items they already have to give others a chance in the draw. Also, many thanks to those who have donated some items to be given out to others in this raffle. It’s teamwork and generosity like this that makes an amazing ARG community!

Raffle Details:

Each day this week a number of items will be listed on Wikibruce.com, along with a simple “skill testing question” to ensure at least some level of Tron knowledge or fandom. Post your answer(s) to the items for which you’d like to be entered into the drawing  in the comments below, along with your name and email.

  • You can enter as many times during the week as you like, and for as many items as you like, but only one entry per item!
  • If more than one of any item exists, more than one name will be drawn (eg, multiple t-shirts listed below means multiple names will be drawn).
  • Entries (comments to the relevant articles) will be accepted until Saturday at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern. Names will be drawn, contacted, and announced shortly thereafter.
  • Make sure you include your email address with your answer!

Raffle entry is now closed!

For today’s skill-testing questions, use the clips from the image below to answer any of the following questions:

For item 1: SamTracker 89 Pin+Sticker

  • 2 pins/stickers are available
  • Trivia Question:

    In the image above:
    A) What business had its home in this building?

For item 2: Space Paranoids Pin

  • 7 pins are available
  • Trivia Question:

    In the image above:
    B) What vehicle is being driven in this scene?

For item 3: Flynn Lives T-Shirt

  • 7 extra-large t-shirts are available, plus 1 large
    Please indicate if you’d like to try for the Large (if you do and the large is drawn by someone else, you’ll remain in the draw for an XL unless you indicate otherwise)
  • Trivia Question:

    In the image above:
    C) What’s the name of this character?

Are you rezzed?  Here we go, start answering!  And don’t forget to see Tron: Legacy this week :)

Check out the other raffle items from TRON week:

  • Day 1: End of Line Club Coaster, FANExpo Blue ID disc, Operation Tron Profile Badge code
  • Day 3: Sabotaged!
  • Day 4: Flynn Lives pin, ‘Home of Tron’ Flynn’s Arcade token, Encom Guest Badge
  • Day 5: Blue FLYNN LIVES poster, ARG Launch Bit

Raffle entry is now closed!

—-

To catch up on the Flynn Lives ARG, visit the community wiki at tron.wikibruce.com and join in with the community at Unfiction!

You can also connect with Flynn Lives on Facebook.

See you on the grid…

Tags: , ,

Categories: ARGs General, Movies, Viral General

13
Dec'10

TRON Week! – Day 1 (raffle closed)

   Posted by: thebruce

Flynn Lives!
It’s here, Tron week!  TRON: LEGACY will premiere on Friday Dec 17th in 3D and IMAX where available, starting with midnight screenings. Not only that, there are now two opportunities for fans and dedicated movie-goers to see Tron: Legacy in 3D for free at select limited theaters across North America.

First, as a reward for all who participated in the FLYNN LIVES promotional ARG, you can visit FlynnLives.com/Electrify to locate a nearby theater for free public entry Monday Dec 13th on a first come first served basis (it will be chaos!)

Secondly, for the lucky folk who managed to snag a ticket from Norelco’s ticket snatching marketing ploy at 3dshave.com and 3dshave.ca, another screening will take place on Wednesday Dec 15th.

The FLYNN LIVES campaign has effectively come to an end with the completion of the DigitalPulse puzzle trail – the actions that allowed a portal to be opened between the grid and the real world. It’s believed to be we, Kevin Flynn’s supporters, who created the means for Alan to receive the supposed page from Kevin Flynn.  What a way to end the campaign and lead in to the film!

Now, to celebrate TRON week and the completion of the ARG, Wikibruce will be raffling off a selection of Flynn Lives and Tron paraphernalia.

Raffle Details:

Each day a number of items will be listed on Wikibruce.com, along with a simple “skill testing question” to ensure at least some level of Tron knowledge.  Post your answer and name in the comments below, and you’ll be entered in the draw to win any of the items listed.

The prizes will get bigger and better as the week goes on :)

  • You can enter as many times during the week as you like, and for as many items as you like, but only one entry per item!
  • If more than one of any item exists, more than one name will be drawn (eg, two coasters as listed below means two names will be drawn).
  • Entries will be accepted until Saturday at 11am Pacific/2pm Eastern. Names will be drawn, contacted, and announced shortly thereafter.
  • Make sure you include your email address with your answer!

Raffle entry is now closed!

Item 1: End of Line Club Coaster

  • 2 coasters are available
  • Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered)

    What is Yori’s user’s name?

Item 2: FANExpo Blue ID disc

  • 1 disc is available
  • Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered)

    Who directed the original 1982 film Tron?

Item 3: Operation Tron Profile Badge code

  • 12 codes are available
  • These codes award you the Operation Tron achievement badge (Encom’s San Francisco press conference) for your FlynnLives.com profile.
  • Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered)

    What is ‘Tron Guy’s real name?

Are you rezzed?  Here we go, start answering!  And don’t forget to see Tron: Legacy this week :)

Check out the other raffle items from TRON week:

  • Day 2: Samtracker 89 pin+sticker, Space Paranoids pin, Flynn Lives T-shirt
  • Day 3: Sabotaged!
  • Day 4: Flynn Lives pin, ‘Home of Tron’ Flynn’s Arcade token, Encom Guest Badge
  • Day 5: Blue FLYNN LIVES poster, ARG Launch Bit

Raffle entry is now closed!

—-

To catch up on the Flynn Lives ARG, visit the community wiki at tron.wikibruce.com and join in with the community at Unfiction!

You can also connect with Flynn Lives on Facebook.

See you on the grid…

  • 2 coasters are available
  • Trivia Question: (answer in a comment below to be entered)

    What is Yori’s user’s name?

Tags: , ,

Categories: ARGs General, Movies, Viral General

28
Oct'10

TRON Night 2010 presents another exclusive preview

   Posted by: thebruce

Flynn Lives!
After taking a lengthy hiatus from activity, a new Flynn Lives challenge was publicized on October 8th. News quickly and excitedly spread throughout the community.

The Flynn Lives Facebook page and @OperationTron twitter cryptically posted: “Testing… 1.. 2.. 3..” Followed an hour later by another: “Wait for it…”

These mysterious taunts were given closure with the big reveal:

How fast can you figure this one out? http://xdqlrpgmqivgca9tfjcqddnbxt.com

On visiting the headache-inducing URL, players were presented with an equally headache-inducing visual design reminiscent of the website that led to the Pitcell trailer online at program-glitch-esc.net exactly 7 months earlier.

This time, the website provided three downloadable ZIP files containing a total of 168 text files. Each text file was an ASCII art image of either a Yes bit or a No bit.

Players quickly discovered that the files within each ZIP represented binary sequences, and once decoded became:

tron night 2010.com

TronNight2010.com announced the availability of exclusive tickets to another movie preview night on October 28th, and the tickets would go up for grabs on a first-come first-served basis globally, the following Tuesday October 12 at 1pm Eastern time.


The “Tron Night” preview events were to take place in locations around the globe: 31 US states, 4 major Canadian cities, Mexico, 27 European countries, 13 countries in Asia, as well as South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Visit the
TRON ARG WIKI
at Wikibruce.com

On Tuesday, the floodgates were opened, and the world fell on the website. Tickets were snapped up almost instantly, selling out some locations, after having four days for the word to spread. The rabid Tron: Legacy fan base, with no hint at more than a 20 minute movie preview, eagerly wanted in.

Tonight is Tron Night. Some even refer to this day, October 28th as TRON Day. The expectations for the event are high, indeed! Will this event live up to the hype? The last preview event had fans eager for excitement, to be shown a brief 3D trailer of Tron: Legacy, and nothing officially more.

Whatever the case may be, excitement is high for Disney’s Tron Night 20 minute preview event.


Now some local TRONto TRON Day fun!

I (thebruce) will be in attendance at the Toronto TRON Night event, at the Scotiabank IMAX theater.  So, to add a little fun to the day, I thought it would be a good opportunity to hand out a bunch of Flynn Lives ARG swag to some dedicated fans!

Here’s what you need to do if you want to get some…

Once I arrive in Toronto, I’ll be using foursquare to check in to specific locations, to pass the time through the afternoon. Follow @Wikibruce, @Thebruce0, or Wikibruce on Facebook and watch for the updates. BUT! You must also watch for the simple task accompanying each check-in that you need to complete or to be prepared for before you find me. In order to win a bag’o’FlynnLives swag, you’ll need to be the first to find me, with the task completed.

There will be four opportunities to find me before the event, with prizes including FlynnLives.com achievement codes, Sam “89” logo pins and stickers, and Space Paranoids pins… amongst some other items.

I’ll be sporting the classy Threadless “My Other Ride Is A Light Cycle” hoodie… So pay close attention, drink some coffee, get your trivia on, get mobile, dress appropriately, and get pumped for the preview tonight!

To be fair, anyone can try for this, whether you managed to claim tickets to the event or not – as long as you’re a Tron: Legacy fan! (only one win per person though, to be fair)

If it happens that no one finds me before I move on to a different location, the tasks can still be completed and swag claimed if I’m located at anywhere else, any time, up to the preview event at the theater. Perhaps nothing will even be claimed by the time event starts!

Disclaimer: I’m not affiliated with the marketing of the film or the event, so this is purely my simple way of giving a bit to the fans on the local grid.

Also, I lost three special Flynn’s Arcade tokens last time I was in Toronto, so if you find them, please let me know!

See you later in Toronto, maybe!

 

UPDATE: Well, isn’t that strange… Apparently some program on the grid by the name of “KLOO” just commented below saying he was able to determine the tokens’ locations in Toronto, and will be publishing their calculated GPS coordinates when he finds available windows of  communication. I’ll re-post them if necessary — If you find any, please retrieve them, and find me! There are rewards for their return…

UPDATE: TRON Night just finished, but it looks like KLOO came through after all! He commented again below with the locations of the 3 tokens:

ERR6871:UNKSRC:—————————————————//got it! quickly: I got the word from a trustworthy source, the three tokens are located at // 43.64500, -79.38675 north of the MTCC, on an inside ledge // 43.65058, -79.39063 st.patrick’s market square, nw corner of center ledge, dirt’s edge // 43.65283, -79.38751 University & Armoury, behind nw bench, edge of wood chips // I hope they’re found // good luck, gotta g–//

The tokens are specially identified, so if you find one at any point, please hold on to it and contact me by any means available. I’d like to award you with some Flynn Lives memorabilia!

Tags: , ,

Categories: ARGs General, Movies

8
Sep'10

UNSC Control Point Defense

   Posted by: thebruce


On September 4, Toronto became ground zero for a Covenant attack on a UNSC control point, just as was warned in the Xbox News video series (which has since come to a disturbing end).

Teams of 6 troops marched onto the (laser) battlefield to ward off Covenant attackers and defend the UNSC obelisk. Presented with a Halo: Reach t-shirt and lanyard, they were then ushered into a tent where they could train on Halo: Reach’s multiplayer firefight.

People who had pre-ordered their copy of Halo: Reach were granted the privilege to switch sides on the field and play as an enemy Covenant again the UNSC onslaught.

The event lasted 6 hours, with over a thousand players cycled through the battlefield. Even Master Chief himself showed up to support the troops.

  • Halo: Reach drops September 14, 2010.
  • For more high quality photos from the events, visit Flickr.
  • For more details about the viral components leading up to the Toronto and Vancouver UNSC events, visit halo.wikibruce.com.

Halo: Reach Toronto Control Point Defense community event from Xbox Canada
Go to Youtube

Don’t forget – Remember Reach…

Tags: ,

Categories: Video games, Viral General

6
Jul'10

Defending the rights of those trampled upon!

   Posted by: thebruce

IFILR.org - Propaganda Posters

Want to know more?

Tags: ,

Categories: ARGs General, Rabbit Hole

Check out this press release from Tim Kring and Nokia, revealing a new social and educational game for change. Conspiracy For Good has been running since mid-May, but anyone is able to join the Conspiracy, so go take a look.
Wikibruce is also hosting the community wiki if you need a place to get caught up!

“HEROES” creator Tim Kring and Nokia launch Conspiracy For Good
June 22, 2010

Audience participation drives social and educational change

Espoo, Finland – “Heroes” creator Tim Kring and Nokia today unveiled Conspiracy For Good (CFG, www.ConspiracyForGood.com), an inaugural movement that blends online and real-world tasks to effect social change through audience participation. CFG combines Kring’s original storytelling (www.ConspiracyForGood.com/about) and Nokia’s Ovi platform (www.ovi.com) to create a dramatic, fictional experience using interactive theatre, mobile and alternate reality gaming (ARG), music and physical participation to do good in the world. Participants will become part of the plot development and will find the necessary tools and clues to move the narrative forward and into the real-world, ultimately creating social and educational change for the Chataika Basic School, located in the village of Chataika in eastern Zambia.

“I believe that storytelling has the power to create positive change in the world. Audiences today want to be more involved in stories,” said Tim Kring, 2010 Digital Emmy Pioneer Award winner for transmedia storytelling. “Our goal with the Conspiracy For Good is to entice, engage, and inspire the audience to drive real-world change through their participation in a narrative.”

The Backstory (Fictional Plot)
Over the decades, members of Conspiracy For Good have been reputed to be quietly and effectively doing good in the world’s most troubled areas. But CFG is not without enemies, and it is now under fierce attack by Blackwell Briggs (www.blackwellbriggs.com), a London-based multinational company committed to advanced infrastructure development and security services. For help, CFG turned to Kring, a master storyteller, to share their story, recruit new members to read the signs, and bring down Blackwell Briggs.

Joining the Conspiracy For Good
Participants enter into the story, which fuses reality and fiction, through www.ConspiracyForGood.com, where they will join like-minded thinkers, artists, musicians and causes, creating a unified voice to fight for social and environmental justice. The audience can take action within their own comfort zone and level of engagement to meet new people with similar interests online and in person, and have some fun too. Participants who join CFG will be able to solve mysteries online, play casual mobile games or be a physical participant in the London events that will take place from mid-July through early August.

CFG brings to life many of the experiences that Ovi, Nokia’s Internet service platform, offers to people that use its devices. CFG participation on Ovi occurs through a series of existing and upcoming apps including casual games like “Exclusion” (http://tiny.cc/4ujaw) and “Mainframe Liberator” (http://tiny.cc/r9qfx) that unlock codes to confidential websites, Ovi Maps (www.ConspiracyForGood.com/map) to guide characters through the story, and Ovi Music where hidden information within songs can be deciphered to advance the story.

In the UK, participants will be able to download a special edition app called Conspiracy For Good: DeadDrop powered by Nokia’s Point & Find service. Available in the UK Ovi Store (http://store.ovi.com) in mid-July, the app will allow players to point at objects and images in the real-world to discover clues and participate in challenges during the series of upcoming events in London.

“Tim Kring has truly realized the potential for Nokia’s Ovi platform as an additional distribution channel to once more advance storytelling through interconnected services and active audience participation,” said Tero Ojanperä, executive vice president, Nokia. “Conspiracy For Good is Nokia’s most powerful example to date for how content owners can blur the lines between the online and real-world to connect people to change.”

How to Join ConspiracyForGood.com
Anyone is welcome to join the conspiracy from any country. For those who live in or plan to visit London later this summer, event participation is free, registration to www.ConspiracyForGood.com is required and no purchase is necessary.

About Tim Kring
Tim Kring is one of the Hollywood creative community’s original transmedia storytellers, who works seamlessly across mediums, including viewing screens and delivery devices such as film, TV, broadband, computers, mobile devices and the printed page to engage audiences around the world in narrative and immersive story arcs. For four television seasons, Kring served as the creator and executive producer of “Heroes,” NBC’s Emmy®-nominated epic saga that chronicles the lives of ordinary people who discover they possess extraordinary abilities. An estimated 76 million fans viewed “Heroes” every week around the world on TV and via interactive online programming.

About Nokia
At Nokia, we are committed to connecting people. We combine advanced technology with personalized services that enable people to stay close to what matters to them. Every day, more than 1.2 billion people connect to one another with a Nokia device – from mobile phones to advanced smartphones and high-performance mobile computers. Today, Nokia is integrating its devices with innovative services through Ovi (www.ovi.com), including music, maps, apps, email and more. Nokia’s NAVTEQ is a leader in comprehensive digital mapping and navigation services, while Nokia Siemens Networks provides equipment, services and solutions for communications networks globally.

About Ovi
Ovi is a family of internet services for use on Nokia mobile devices that keeps people connected to the people and things that matter. Ovi services include Ovi Maps with walk and drive navigation and premium travel content; Ovi Music with millions of music tracks; Ovi Mail for email and messaging; Ovi Share for sharing content; and the Ovi Store, filled with thousands of apps, games and media from the content industry’s biggest names along with independent developers. Content publishers are invited to distribute and monetize their content through Ovi by visiting www.publish.ovi.com. More information is available at www.ovi.com.

Media Enquiries:

For Tim Kring
Rogers & Cowan
Sallie Olmsted/Jessica Boyer
Tel. +1 310 854-8124/+1 310 854-8141
Email: solmsted@rogersandcowan.com / jboyer@rogersandcowan.com

Nokia
Communications
Tel. +358 7180 34900
Email: press.services@nokia.com

www.nokia.com

Tags: ,

Categories: ARGs General, Educational, Puppetmasters

26
Feb'10

Tron Legacy ARG gets YOU in the game!

   Posted by: thebruce

Flynn Lives!
It’s prompting nostalgic retro-flashbacks to the 80’s, all this hype for the upcoming film Tron: Legacy – a sequel to the classic cult sci-fi adventure from 1982 Tron. But the new face of Tron presented by 21st century technology and special effects has the fan-base in a tizzy. It’s having a similar effect as the recent reboot of Batman had; and perhaps it’s not unconnected that the same marketing team behind Batman’s Why So Serious campaign is heading up Tron’s Flynn Lives campaign.

Visit the
TRON ARG WIKI
at Wikibruce.com

Last year at the San Diego Comic-Convention, a very successful live event (with online components) was the platform for the public revelation of a life-size ‘Light-cycle’ and the first public teaser trailer from the film (watch the official video recap here!). This event opened the door for fans to start following FlynnLives.com – hoping, wishing, and praying that whatever happens between then and the movie’s release would also award them with some sweet Tron swag! If the Comic-Con event was any indicator, Tron fans would be in for a wild ride over the next year.

Tron: Legacy Bit NO mailed rabbithole packageSure enough, in early February 2010 I, along with other people all over the globe began receiving small packages in the mail containing a palm-sized “Bit” as seen in the original Tron, with a hand-written phrase written on the inside lid of the box reading “/zerohour“. From this, the website FlynnLives.com/ZeroHour was discovered with a binary-coded countdown to 11am EST, February 24th – Zero Hour.

ZeroHour binary countdown clockThe Tron community erupted with theories, as over the next few days a mysterious message was slowly revealed below. A list of cities appeared, located within the United States, Canada, France, UK, and Australia – but there were no instructions accompanying them.

An email was distributed just before “Zero hour” hit reminding people to watch their nearest city. Right on schedule, three cities first lit up linked with instructions to meet a contact at a specific time and place in each city. What happened was a feeding frenzy of F5’s and website refreshes for the next 9 hours as all 27 cities lit up three at a time. At the drop points, the first person to arrive and say the code phrase to the waiting contact (and only the first person!) would be given a cell phone by which they were instructed to locate a deaddrop containing exclusive Tron collectible swag – as well as codes to be entered online.

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/MFhjWPSHxcs” width=”425″ height=”264″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /]

At this point, FlynnLives.com allowed anyone to create a profile, including contact information. This implied potential phone calls, text messages, even physical mail to be distributed in coming months. Once signed up and connecting the profile to a facebook account, players discovered they could earn achievement badges – bragging rights. Additionally, those lucky enough to be the first to each ZeroHour location and enter at least one of the discovered codes online also received a special achievement, and their name listed as one of 66 special operatives.

Flynn Lives sample badge: Gridlock Rendezvous

At the end of this ZeroHour event, players online and offline were rewarded with a new desktop background, and instructions to visit PitCell.com at 4:00pm EST the next day — to be the first to register for an exclusive, limited IMAX screening in one of five listed cities: Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, and Sydney. Of what the screening is – still a mystery.

Going to an IMAX screening?
Add your name to the list
if you’d like to meet up
with others in your area!

The next day, when this second zero hour hit, once again the refresh-frenzy began. Word had spread over the course of the day through mainstream media, and people worldwide were waiting in anticipation for the moment the (FREE!) ticket registration for this IMAX event would open. In an unbelievable record (where is Guinness to confirm?) The Los Angeles IMAX event was flagged SOLD OUT in under one minute. New York quickly followed suit about 5 minutes later. Toronto and London were next in short order, and Sydney selling out closed the deal.

Sample ticket to Feb 27th, 2010 IMAX screening

A leading theory at this point is that individuals who grabbed a ticket in time (which is good for two people) will have access to view a special IMAX 3D scene from Tron, much like the 6 minute prologue scene for Batman: The Dark Knight. But details about the Tron screening as of this writing are still up in the air.

That’s not the end of it, however. After the updates, more was discovered online. Additional mysteries and strange codes, a hidden discussion forum with reference to Encom International, and what appears to be a deeper story still to be unraveled.

With tron: Legacy not slated for release until December 17th, 2010, this hype campaign is sure to kick up a notch or few in upcoming months, and those who miss out on this IMAX event shouldn’t fret about missing out entirely. Sign up for a profile, and watch for any opportunity to get in this game! One thing to keep in mind is that this kind of catering to a market fanbase is best and most successful when free, and only as good and enjoyable as the fans, players, and community make it.

You can join the search for Flynn in numerous ways:

Tags: , ,

Categories: ARGs General, Movies, Rabbit Hole

23
Nov'09

Grayson’s IVtune recovered! All are winners

   Posted by: thebruce

This weekend, a momentous discovery was made: The hidden fortune of Grayson Ozias IV was found. After almost two months of hints, puzzles, research and anticipation, Levi’s “G.O. IV Fortune” campaign has come to a close.

Two months ago, the campaign for Grayson’s fortune began with the revelation of the discovery of wax cylinders – audio recordings from the late 1800s. About “GoForth”, The Inspiration Room said: “Levi Strauss has launched a new advertising campaign, ‘Go Forth’, presenting an optimistic tone in a time of pessimism in the United States. The online (goforth.levi.com), print and television elements borrow words and concepts from American poet Walt Whitman to establish a pioneering tone for the ‘New Americans’.”

Levi’s new “G.O. IV Fortune” campaign included the promise that along with the discovery of Grayson’s buried $100,000 prize, the organization would donate an equal sum of $100,000 to a charity of choice. The campaign prompted players to learn about American history and solve puzzles based on clues revealed in old wax cylinder recordings of Grayson Ozias IV. The introduction to this long-buried treasure hunt can be heard from G.O. himself here.

I left my home and all I knew because I feared the complacency that was growing in me. I feared that I would be content to never experience anything of America beyond the city in which I was born. But after hearing Whitman, this complacency became unthinkable, and my comfort became my greatest burden.

This great man’s portrait of our land emboldened me to conquer fear and go forth, and I have never regretted it, even now. Which is why it is my hope that these words may in turn inspire another to conquer fear, and abandon comfort, and seek their unknown.

Therefore, I commit the fortune I have made in my travels back to the earth from whence it came. I leave all I have to America, so that America might set out and find it.

Yours most sincerely,

Grayzon Ozias IV

“In September of 2009, Levi’s verified the existence of $100,000 that Grayson Ozias IV buried.

He left it there for you.
And so did we.

Go Forth.”

Shortly after the hunt began, Wikibruce among other websites received a package from Grayson, which is documented here in the article and video “It’s never too late IV a rabbithole“.

After almost two months of clues and thought-provoking quotes from Walt Whitman by G.O. IV on Twitter, players who persevered were presented with the final clue, a final puzzle that would reveal the location of Grayson’s buried $100,000 fortune. On November 21st, 2009, Laura Hall was the GoForth participant who successfully made the trek to the boonies of southern Utah to recover Grayson’s buried fortune.

Charity: WaterLaura wasn’t the only winner though. The chosen charity to receive an equal donation of $100,000 from Levi Strauss is charity: water. “Bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of the money raised goes to direct project costs—funding sustainable clean water solutions in the areas of greatest need.”

In the planned final trip to the secret location, she recorded her progress and adventure, tweeting about it, and ensuring others could follow along.

The official final video of her discovery has been posted for viewing at goforth.levi.com, and you can watch her documentation of the buried fortune in this video.

Laura has also begun a website to document, relive, and share her GoForth experience at goforthandbeyond.com.

To check out the progress of the entire game, you can visit the community wiki at goforth.wikibruce.com, or read about other people’s adventures in recovering clues around the United States and from other related events at whereisthemaninthehat.tumblr.com.

Congratulations to Laura Hall and Charity: Water, and an enormous thanks to Grayson Ozias IV and Levi Strauss for their positive, exciting, and memorable campaign through America’s history.

Grayson Ozias IV: “I leave all I have to America”
Download (Click to play)

As “hach1r0k1d03” shared near the end of the campaign, We’re all winners because we have gone forth & followed Grayson’s journey. His story is worth so much more than $100,000.

Levis Go Forth

Tags: ,

Categories: ARGs General, Miscellaneous Products, Viral General

15
Oct'09

It’s never too late IV a rabbithole

   Posted by: thebruce

About the time of Levi’s launch of their new “Go Forth” campaign, reports began popping up of nifty packages being delivered from the Levi Strauss and Co. Archives in San Francisco.  Days after I reported the press release, another package arrived!  Unfortunately this time, there was no charcoal briquette goodness used as packaging.

There was, however, a red bandanna marked with a very good question: “Who was Grayson Ozias the IVth, and where is his treasure?”    So I had a creative urge and decided to share the opening of Grayson’s mail…

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/ex-Anm0HEQk” width=”512″ height=”409″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /]

 

You can join the game and help solve the mystery by starting at goforth.levi.com

Then follow GraysonOziasIV on Twitter for updates, and stalk Grayson on Facebook

Then go and bookmark the community wiki here at goforth.wikibruce.com for help and answers (and please contribute if you want!).

You can also join a community discussion at Unfiction.

Now get II it and Go IVth!

Tags: ,

Categories: ARGs General, Miscellaneous Products, Viral General

14
Oct'09

Mysterious Evil Guy’s Evil Game of Buttery Evilness

   Posted by: thebruce

Celebrities are a hot target for ransoms and blackmail. So is it any surprise that Seth Green of Idle Hands and Austin Powers fame has now had to likewise suffer a life-altering, catastrophic tragedy? If you don’t know what I’m referring to, check out these videos:

[kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/bP8R0tNhkrA” width=”255″ height=”214″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /] [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/H_NQeqp0lNA” width=”255″ height=”214″ allowfullscreen=”true” fvars=”fs=1″ /]

Almost 1 million views in 10 days. What exactly happened? Someone (maybe marketers?) stole his lucky vintage Butterfinger bar. As Seth testifies on his blog, “So last Friday I was on my cell during a break while shooting a Butterfinger spot. I’m in the parking lot, getting some junk outta my car, when two guys jumped me. These guys took my wallet, keys, bag…and the most important thing ever: my lucky vintage 1928 Butterfinger.”

While the videos stirred up the viral pipeline hornet’s nest and caused some heated debating over hoax videos, Seth and Nestle were busy setting up a central web hub called DudeWheresMyBar.com (get it? It’s a play on “Dude, Where My Car?” got it? ok, moving on) in preparation for a campaign to help Seth get re-acquainted with his precious Butterfinger bar; because no one lays a finger on his Butterfinger bar. Well, except that someone already did. In typical ransom style, the goofy perpetrator also then mailed him a letter-clipped ransom note. Seriously?

Seth outlines his dilemma in the following video, which has also apparently been hacked by the mysterious goofy perpetrator with no face.

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Seth's Butterfinger, Ransom noteApparently the perpetrator also really knows his flash programming, because part of the ultimatum given to Seth is to that he must play games at his expense to reveal, in a very Joker-like fashion, a secret message which must be solved by midnight on October 31st or the bar will be destroyed o noes!

But ho! Seth has decided to team with Nestle and recruit the help of his throbbing mobs of fans to play these five games as they are magically made available and earn the high scores to unlock the gameboard message! And of course, as a thank you, Seth is prepared to reward the most successful player with a golden Butterfinger Bar valued at $10,000, and a trip to L.A. to be rewarded by Seth in person! Eh-oh!

BF_Gameboard_for_blogUnfortunately to some, it seems the mystery may go deeper than the surface. This ‘mystery man’ has been leaving video messages, and surely there will be clues hidden throughout this evil-kidnapper-of-evilnesses tricks. As he describes his game: “It is an enigma, wrapped in a riddle, smothered in secret sauce”

It appears though that Seth only likes the U.S. So, if you live in Canada, you’re not eligible for his reward according to the official rules. Boo-urns.

Turn that frown upside down though, because you can still play the games! And you can still feed the gears of virality by sharing and spamming the brand-ridden cry for help with friends who embrace any of over 85 social networking tools! (even those who don’t who at least have email)

All that said, if you still want to help Seth (and who wouldn’t want to help those teary puppy-dog eyes), go log in, and start playing the Tap-Tap Revenge Remix That Rant game and shoot for as high a score as you can – but don’t forget to collect the clues along the way.

ARG?  “Lite” ARG?  Uh…  Contest style marketing viral banking on celebrity pseudo-reality? That’s a little closer.  And you know it’s viral when you’re told about it by the development team, who were inspired by the ARG community. Enh — not very ARGish.  But who cares, I like Seth. And I chuckled.  Here’s hoping Seth will make some personal phone calls… or Mars and Hershey will crowd-source a covert corporate takedown of Nestle via a public blog. Perhaps they’ll spread rumors of government conspiracies, or introduce an AI from the future, or a corrupt pharmaceutical company, or sharks with frickin’ laser beams attached to their foreheads!

Other media coverage:

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Categories: Miscellaneous Products, Viral General