Back in February I promised to keep you updated on a campaign that Warner Bros. did for Dark Knight using Heath Ledger's character. I had wondered if they would continue with that campaign despite his passing, or focus on another aspect of the movie. Well it seems they have moved on from the Joker campaign. A campaign for the character played by Aaron Eckhart, Harvey Dent, has recently taken off. Warner Bros. claims that this was the plan all along, but this campaign seems to have picked up where the Joker campaign was forced to leave off.


The viral website acts as a fake campaign site for Harvey Dent's campaign for District Attorney of Gotham City. The site has campaign materials available to download, the option to upload pictures supporting the campaign, and a personal challenge audio clip from Harvey Dent. It offers several ideas of how to show your support for the campaign including: write and perform a "Take Back Gotham" song, see if you can get up a Harvey Dent sign in every single window of your dorm building, and get your friends together and spell out Harvey Dent in human letters. You can sign you or you friends up for updates about the campaign. The site explains why people should show support for Dent:

"Show your support for Harvey Dent! Gotham City is collapsing from a runaway crime wave and Harvey Dent can save it. But he has to run for district attorney first.

The only way he’ll run is if he sees an outpouring of public support. Let’s all get out there and show Harvey Dent he’s got support to take back Gotham! Let’s get those videos and pictures coming!"

I think this campaign is a great example of how to do viral marketing. It has continued to keep fans interested over the past year. There are always new developments and features of the campaign, no matter what character it is focusing on. There are a few new Dark Knight campaign sites that are under construction. The Gotham City Clerk website has a link to the Gotham Times website. There is also a Gotham Election Board website that tells users it will be implementing online voter registration in the near future. I will continue to follow this marketing campaign for updates.

To view the full article from Pulp Secret, click here.

To Joke Or Not To Joke?

Many people have been anxiously awaiting the release of the movie Dark Knight (to view the trailer, click here). Warner Brothers implemented a viral campaign for this movie that was centered around Heath Ledger's character, The Joker (pictured below). Sadly, Heath Ledger passed away on January 22, 2008. So now the big question: will Warner Bros. continue the campaign despite the passing of Ledger?


First, a little bit about the viral campaign. This article from Superhero Flix gives details about it. Select people received a cake with the words "Call Me Now" written in frosting. When they called the number, the cake began to ring. Sure enough, there was a phone inside the cake. This Verizon phone came complete with charger, a "Gotham Times" press badge, and a Joker card with another phone number on it. When people called the number, they were directed to the premiere viewing of a 6 minute trailer of the movie in IMAX theaters. There is also a viral website to go along with the campaign. For a full gallery of the pictures, click here.























I think continuing the campaign could be a little weird, considering people could be getting phones with messages from the deceased. On the other hand, this movie is said to showcase what may be Heath Ledger's best performance. So continuing this viral marketing campaign could be another way to honor the talented actor. Word on the street is, Warner Bros. renewed the phones until March 30, 2008. The phone was originally set to expire on January 30, 2008. So this could be a sign that they plan to continue the viral marketing campaign. However, Warner Bros.'s website for Dark Knight features a simple page honoring Ledger. I will be on the lookout as to what direction they will take with this campaign. RIP Heath.

To view the full article from Superhero Flix, click here.