WARNER BROS | WHY SO SERIOUS? | 2009
The 15 Months When Gotham City Became Real / WARNER BROS "WHY SO SERIOUS?"
This is the story of a movie promotion that turned into a city-wide game lasting 15 months. From 2007 to 2008, fans around the world became "residents of Gotham City," solving puzzles, making phone calls, and picking up cakes.
The problem
The Dark Knight was a sequel riding on the success of its predecessor, so expectations were high, but there was also a lot of skepticism about casting Heath Ledger as the Joker. Warner Bros teamed up with 42 Entertainment and started building the campaign 15 months before release.
The insight
Don't show them—make them search. 42 Entertainment insisted on letting fans solve puzzles with their own hands and earn something for it, rather than just walking them down a set path. The act of finding the clues became part of the movie itself.
The idea
It all started with a "Jokerized" dollar bill handed out at Comic-Con. Following the coordinates led to a phone number appearing in the sky; calling it brought the next mission. Harvey Dent's campaign website gathered 97,000 sign-ups, and following that trail revealed the Joker's face. At bakeries across the country, people could pick up a cake ordered under the name "Robin Banks"—and inside, a cell phone would ring. Online and on the street, everything was the stage.
What happened
More than 11 million people took part across over 75 countries. The campaign won the Grand Prix in the Cyber category at the 2009 Cannes Lions, and the film went on to gross over 1 billion dollars worldwide. By the time it opened, the doubts about Ledger had completely disappeared.
Afterthought
The idea of hiding a ringing phone inside a bakery cake still gives me chills. For 15 months, promotion stopped being something you watched and became something you lived inside. I think anyone who makes ads should watch this one at least once—it's the peak of the form.
Awards
- Cannes Lions Grand Prix 2009
