In 2006, Industrial Metal band NINE INCH NAILS in collaboration with 42 ENTERTAINMENT created a transmedia campaign to expand the concept of a dystopian future beyond their “Year Zero” album.
The band wanted to engage their fans on a level that intrinsically integrated the NIN philosophy using the ARG as a vehicle. It also was an extension of the album concept criticizing the US government’s current policies and it’s impact 15 years into the future.
The campaign began with a message coded onto a t-shirt, into an online scavenger hunt with unique web sites phone calls, murals, USB drives, and an underground “Art Is Resistance” movement, which expired in a secret concert that was raided by a SWAT team.
The ARG fueled a fan loyalty to NIN that grew beyond music sales. The credibility of the band although at higher risk, founded a new found trust and respect with more dedicated fans and a new following.
T-Shirt word puzzle - letters spelled out “I am trying to believe” which led to a Web site - iamtryingtobelieve.com
Other Web sites were found by tracking similar Internet Protocol (IP) addresses and referencing the album’s track list. These Web sites included: http://www.anotherversionofthetruth.com/,http://www.bethehammer.net/, http://www.105thairbornecrusaders.com/ andhttp://www.churchofplano.com/.
A USB flash drive containing an mp3 of “My Violent Heart” was found in a bathroom at a concert in Portugal. By reading the file through a spectrograph, the static at the end of the song actually showed the picture of a hand reaching down from the sky, which would be known as “The Presence.”
A second USB flash drive containing the song “Me I’m Not” and a second mp3 of static was found in a bathroom at a concert in Spain. When the static track was put through a spectrograph, it spelled out the phone number 1-216-333-1810.
Fliers leading to the Web site http://www.artisresistance.com/ are handed out at a concert in France.
A third USB flash drive containing the song “In This Twilight” and a second file with an image of a Hollywood sign was found in a bathroom at a concert in England. The image of the Hollywood sign would lead to http://www.hollywoodinmemoriam.com/.
A USB drive containing the video to Year Zero’s first single, “Survivalism,” was distributed at a concert in England. The video led to discovery of the Web sites:http://www.thewaterturnedtoblood.net/, http://www.judsonogram.net/ andhttp://www.cedocore.com/.
Fliers with directions to a billboard under a bridge were handed out at a concert in England. The billboard led to discovery of http://www.operationswamp0000.net/ andhttp://www.operationchipsweep.net/.
Lithographs were handed out at a party to people who had pre-ordered the album, leading to discovery of http://www.themailstrom.com/.
E-mails sent out to fans, leading to discovery of http://www.thepriceoftreason.net/.
There is an “Art Is Resistance” meeting in Los Angeles. Kits containing cell phones, bandannas, buttons and other things are handed out to those attending.
Year Zero is released in Europe (13), Australia (14), the UK (16), the United States (17) and Japan (25).
Fans are invited to a free concert in Los Angeles via the free cell phones from the “Art Is Resistance” kits. The concert is raided by a fake SWAT team, and the events are videotaped.
Fans who received free cell phones from the Art Is Resistance kits receive a phone call which leads to http://www.hourofarrival.net/.
http://www.42entertainment.com/yearzero/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Characters_and_organizations_in_the_Year_Zero_alternate_reality_game#Solutions_Backwards_Initiative
http://psucomm473.blogspot.com/2009/04/year-zero-look-into-not-so-distant.html
http://zloink.wordpress.com/transmedia-research-year-zero/
