If you’ve been living under a rock, you probably haven’t heard of the Dark Knight’s viral advertising campaign. Following Christopher Nolan’s rebirth of the Batman franchise, the recently released Dark Knight sequel has received all the right press, but in the early days it was for all the wrong reasons. Back in September, Conway Wickliffe, a special effects technician died on the set during a critical stunt sequence. Just after filming had wrapped, Heath Ledger, who plays the darkest version of the Joker we’ve ever seen, passed away of an apparent drug overdose. His death served as a morbid jolt for the marketing department, as many speculated that Heath became obsessed and troubled by the character he recreated, which ultimately led to his prescription drug (mis)use and untimely death. This fueled the marketing machine, which created a major viral campaign around the insane villain. The ultimate goal of the viral campaign was to make fans feel as though they were citizens of Gotham, trapped in the crossfire between a raving lunatic, and impotent police force.
Numerous websites were launched to tease fans, including: the Joker’s personality profile, Gotham Police, Gotham National Bank, and Remembering Gina. Although all of these are worth a look, the best was The Ha Ha Ha Times, which portrays a newspaper that’s been doodled on, representing the deranged thoughts of Batman’s newest nemesis. Our ultimate favorite in the Dark Knight viral campaign was a cake, which when delivered, had a cell phone hidden inside. When the recipient called the number indicated included, they were greeted by a receptionist from Rent-a-Clown who thanked them for their support, and asked that they keep their cell phone charged at all times. This gave fans the feeling that they would have to be ready to respond to the Joker’s random taskings at any time. Awesome fan immersion, and the film truly lives up the hype!
