“The Mark of the Spider-Man” ARG certainly lived up to its name.
First some background: We told you earlier that this alternate reality game started with the delivery of a backpack containing the “personal effects” of Peter Parker, effects that led to a website, which in turn revealed six Twitter accounts that belonged to ARG operatives in Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Denver, Phoenix and Seattle. That far-flung ARG team then tweeted five locations in each city — it was then up to the players to dash to be the first to arrive at one of those destinations.
Those players who managed to arrive first (and provide a password that had also been tweeted) were handed a cellphone and a black hoodie with the “Mark of the Spider-Man” logo. I was part of the winning Los Angeles team, and later we each received calls on our cellphones, giving us a location in downtown L.A. where a black van was waiting with our final mission: To dart around the urban landscapes of downtown, Hollywood and Culver City and use stencils to make the mark of the spider.
Yes, we literally painted the town red. And before you call the police or post an angry comment, you should know that every site was predetermined and property owners agreed to participate, so this was street art but it was not graffiti. In reward for our long (but legal) night, we each received a stenciled “Mark of the Spider-Man” on cardboard like the very ones we’d just left — and each had inscribed messages from Marc Webb, the (aptly named) director of the upcoming “The Amazing Spider-Man.”
Here’s a video that showcases the ARG event going down in all six cities:
— Jay West
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Just saw this. This is cool!
It'll be interesting to hear more about this as it goes along.
So basically Sony got a bunch of people in 6 cities to go out and give their movie free advertising?! And all the participants got was a stencil?
My thoughts exactly. They weren't even "unpaid interns" but instead enjoyed about the same status as those guys you can pick up at Home Depot.
Sounds like Dave and Gordon don't know how to have a good time. Have you guys even heard of, or played in an ARG? Lighten up guys!