Alternative reality gives sandwiches

What happens if you combine communication technology, advertising and otvyaznuyu fantasy, in terms of creating a literary plot? Get a crowd of Batman fans walking the streets of San Diego disguised as a Joker character with smartphones at the ready. In this case, it was one of hundreds of games that are based on the plot of alternative reality (Alternate Reality Games (ARG)), prepared for marketing purposes. It was held in 2007 at the comic book festival and started with cheap newspaper ads that brought players to the Joker website. On the site, they received a set of geo-coordinates established using satellite navigation as well as data indicating a specific time. It was in the specified place and at the specified time, the players were able to observe the plane, which drew a phone number in the sky. Each caller of this number could come into the game with fascinating searches for various treasures, including those hidden in the Internet.

However, this large-scale event was just one of several parts of the big game called “The Dark Knight”, which was organized by the advertising company 42 Entertainment in order to advertise the film of the same name. Such a way to cause a sensation around the film may seem overly intricate, however, games of this type are becoming more and more popular and massive, which in turn attracts large customers.

The thin line between reality and fiction began to blur in 2001, when the first commercial ARG game called “The Beast” was organized as a promotional campaign for the Steven Spielberg film “I.I .: Artificial Intelligence”. Instead of officially announcing the start of the game, such ARG events usually start with the fact that special keys are scattered in different places for those who want to participate: a barely noticeable image on the billboard, or maybe an encrypted message on the website. Participants must independently assemble and combine all the details of this puzzle, which is actually an “alternate reality”. Typically, ARGs are distinguished by the fact that during these games, various technological approaches and teamwork are actively used, as well as the mystery and mystique of the plot, which becomes clear only at the very end, and even many weeks later, after the game is over. And only after this, the story (as well as the product that has been promoted) is revealed.
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At first, ARG-games were used as a marketing tool only in connection with movies and video games, as in the case of “The Beast”, or “I love the bees”, which was created in 2004 to promote the video game “Halo 2”, but Now they are going to a higher level. Take for example the “Lost Ring”, developed by order of McDonald’s on the occasion of the 2008 Olympics. amnesia, as well as recreate the supposedly lost (actually fictional) ancient Olympic sport. “Most people are experiencing the Olympiad indirectly,” says Miss Mac Gonigel. “I wanted to offer people a more active and collective way to participate in this event.”

Expanding on the scale, ARG-games are becoming more pretentious. Together with the California Institute of Future Research, a nonprofit research organization based in California, Miss Mac Gonigell uses ARG to evaluate future scenarios that thousands of players can work through. For example, in 2007, during the game “World without oil”, the participants played out possible scenarios of world history in a situation of severe oil crisis. (Many of the findings were verified for compliance with reality in 2008, when oil prices soared). During her latest project called “Superstruct,” Miss Mac Gonigell is trying to get people to fantasize about the world in 2019 using blogs, online video and other wiki resources.

Her goal, she says, is to use these games as tools for collective brainstorming, “to ensure that we are able to quickly, collectively and broadly respond to possible future events.” Ms. Mac Goniguel does not consider such projects to be full-fledged ARGs, but they fit into the general trend of using similar communication technologies as a means that makes people think, as Jonathan Waite says from the ARGNet thematic portal (argn.com). According to him, over the past 3-4 years, the number of ARGs conducted at any given time has grown from a couple to three.

In September 2008, the British Red Cross arranged the game "Traces of Hope", which became the first charity ARG character. It was an interactive story about a teenager from Uganda who was looking for his mother in a country covered by civil war. The plot took place with the participation of 7,000 active players - as a rule, ARG consists of a close core of loyal enthusiasts who do all the “black work”, as well as a wider circle of “fans” who just watch what is happening. The game was designed to draw "the attention of the public and allow communion of the lives of ordinary people who find themselves in the epicenter of armed conflicts," says Dorothee Erndt from the Red Cross. According to Erndt, the campaign allowed an audience of 30 million people to be reached and, accordingly, get in touch with new potential benefactors. Are new charity games coming up? Miss Ernd admits that the success of the campaign was due to its innovative nature and, if so, then repeated games are unlikely to occur.

But how exactly do such games help sell sandwiches or promote charitable donations? McDonald's, Red Cross, and other sponsors of ARG events are what Miss Mac Gonigiel calls "gift marketing." Instead of traditionally forcing people to talk about their product with the help of competent advertising or viral video, ARG gives sponsors the chance to “arrange something amazing, distribute it free of charge and thereby earn credibility,” Gonigel believes. As the national awareness of ARG grows, more and more companies are embracing the idea of ​​an advertising campaign that does not impose itself and allows you to have a great time. Mr. Waite believes that the “Lost Ring” is built on “such an exciting story” that it could significantly change the attitude of the participating players about McDonald's.

What's next? Mr. Waite says that he was carried away by the ARG called “New Colonist”, timed to coincide with the release of the film “Patrol”, which took place on March 6th. When it comes to the new games of Miss Mac Gonigel, her lips remain closed. Anyway, now that the new ARGs begin almost weekly, it’s a good time to join the game.