Two smoking HOT ARGs you need to check out
Posted on 08. Oct, 2009 by Jonathan Cherry in Advertising, Technology
We here at Cherryflava have never believed that a social media strategy should just be restricted to having a Twitter feed and something arb on Facebook. Like all other media, creativity plays a huge role in making these potentially powerful tools really effective and remarkable.
Creating a completely immersive media experience is a good way of doing that – and here are two current ARG [alternate reality game] campaigns that are making us sweat like a serial killer in a mortuary…
Asylum 626 is the sequel game to last year’s very successful Hotel 626 campaign for Doritos. Hotel 626 captivated over 2.5 million people in 136 different countries since its launch last Halloween. Only accessible between 6pm and 6am (during hours of darkness) it required participants to use their web cam and microphone to deal with demon babies, psychotic guests and a stalking serial killer in their attempts to flee the hotel. Without the appearance of one single corn chip, the campaign resulted in two flavours which Doritos had ‘brought back from the dead’, selling out in just three weeks…
Again accessible only at night, Asylum 626 also makes impressive use of the user’s webcam. For example, head-tracking technology is employed so that you can dodge left and right, avoiding the frenzied lunges of a chainsaw-wielding attacker. A picture is also taken of your face at a particularly opportune moment and using distortion mapping, later shown to you as a reflection in a sink of dirty water…
The use of layered, cutting-edge social media technology – high production values and ultimately a compelling story line that respectfully incorporates the product into the campaign is the reason that this thing really works. Plus the ‘late night’ aspect of the thing totally adds to that ‘Silent Hill’-type feeling that just gives it that polished experience overall.
More:
Blink 182 goes all Augmented Reality crazy on a chip packet – Cherryflava
Doritos – Aslyum 626 – Contagious
Rabbithole of the Levis ARG
Then from Levis in the US – an ARG called Go Forth where players go on the hunt for US$100 000 that’s buried somewhere in the United States.
Part scavenger hunt, part story puzzle game – the campaign is once again a multi-layered experience across the Internet and reality that rewards the players that are prepared to undertake the extended challenge. Everything you encounter could be a clue to the treasure – or something to either put you off-course or frustrate the hell outta ya.
Go find it...
ARG production is not simple – we should know – but when done right and supported with a big enough budget to seamlessly create a quality, believable secret mind-trip – it’s higher grade social networking for brave brands.
More:
Levis Go Forth ARG – NOTCOT
Levis Go Forth website
