‘The Gotham Times’ Now Online!
I checked “Hollywood Chicago” earlier today, in what has been a regular checkup since last Saturday / Sunday. Usually they are good about breaking any news related to “The Dark Knight” viral campaigns.
The last viral campaign for the movie was “Rory’s Death Kiss.com”, a website dedicated to taking photos of Batman fans dressing up a Joker’s and taking photos of themselves all over the world. From group photos of Joker’s to single Joker’s, there were a ton of submissions, and a lot of them were really fun. The whole Dark Knight campaign was to end at 11:59 on November 17th, the last time anyone could submit a group Joker photo. So everyone anticipated that on the 18th, something new would happen. Well, I was up at Midnight, and there was a message on the website. Those Joker photos that were chosen as the best would be receiving something in the mail. Regular mail.
Today, I finally heard what that object was. It was a fully mocked up “Gotham Times” newspaper! How lucky for those Batman fans. I had thought about trying to submit something, and now I wish I had.
So, photos went online of the “Gotham Times” newspaper that the fans got, with a message saying that the new www.thegothamtimes.com website would go online today, November 23rd.
I just check five minutes ago, and it is now online. I should be doing something else, but I will be reading this 4 page Batman Dark Knight newspaper first! Viral marketing is awesome, this has taken some great creativity.
I am sure the main point of interest in the Batman themed newspaper is the next charge for those who have participated in the campaign up to this point. There is an ad in the newspaper that reads;
Correction
A classified ad in our last issue was incorrect. It should have read:
Charming, handsome man with dazzling smile seeks amateur clowns for discreet encounters. No previous sense of humor necessary. Criminal record a plus. Interested? Write to humanresources@whysoserious.com in the full understanding that we have your email address and might send you alarming, disturbing, or annoying material at any moment.
Hollywood Chicago reports when e-mailed, the following auto-reply message is returned:
See you found my little message. So, do you think you have what it takes to be a part of my circle of friends?
Are you a backstabbing, self-promoting, ambitious clown who will do anything to prove yourself to me?
If so, the first step of your application process awaits … if you know where to look.
In the style of the other websites, there is a tear you can pull back on the front page of the Gotham Times. It has a bunch of “Ha Ha’s” written underneath. Seems odd to me that there is only one Joker touch that I could find, but maybe that will come to light in the next couple of hours.
~Edit www.wearetheanswer.com is now online as well. The Gotham Knight newspaper mentioned this website, and it wasn’t online at all until the paper went online. The website is dedicated to Harvey Dent’s crusade to take back the corrupt Gotham Police Force, offering this website as a annoynomous website to submit your tips through.
Also now online, an IMAX featurette on The Dark Knight 7 minute prologue debuting in front of I Am Legend on December 7th.
~Edit – 2:20 I sent a letter to the email address for “Letters To The Editor” (letterstotheeditor@thegothamtimes.com), a section in the Gotham Times. Here is the automated response I got back;
Dear Contributor:
Thank you for submission. Although we cannot run all letters we receive, please be assured that we read all letters. If we do use your letter in an upcoming edition of The Gotham Times, we may edit it for space considerations. We appreciate your letters and hope that you will continue to submit to us. And thank you for your support of The Gotham Times.
Sincerely,
The Editors
I also sent a tip through the wearetheanswer.com website. I didn’t get the automated response back that was mentioned above. That is promising.
There will be some clues in the newspaper about the next campaign. I have noticed some asterisks above random letters that may spell some sort of Dark Knight themed message. Will I investigate it all? I doubt it. I am done time wise for now. It also could be some website being launched about Gina Tortericci. Who knows. I just know I want to be involved in the next viral thing, and not miss out like I did on dressing up like the Joker.
~Edit – 6:25 I did end up getting an answer from wearetheanswer.com. It was just a confirmation email to make sure that I wasn’t posing as someone I wasn’t. I tried to write some really creative things, alluding to former Batman artists and the facts that were presented in the paper. I imagine everyone will get a response either way, whether they were creative or not…
Since earlier in the afternoon, the dedicated individuals at Hollywood Chicago.com have uncovered (as I figured they would pick everything apart) a number of other website launches. They are;
- http://www.thehahahatimes.com
- http://www.gothamnationalbank.com
- http://www.gothampolice.com
- http://www.rememberinggina.org
- http://www.gothamcityhall.com (Under Construction Still)
I was right about the website about “Gina”, just couldn’t find the address. The best site is probably the Ha Ha Ha Times website, with is just a copy of the Gotham Times website, with Joker’s special touches:)
I read about 60% of the paper, but apparently missed the phone number, 866-237-6480. If you call it, I guess it just directs you to visit The Gotham Times website. I will have to try it later.
~Edit – 11/24 10:45 AM – Got an email back today from wearetheanswer.com Tips line. I had used a cop with the name “Bolland”, just for a test, as a tip to the well known Batman comic artist Brian Bolland. This is what I got back;
The District Attorney’s office is not aware of an officer by that name.
Please be assured that the Gotham City DA takes all information seriously and confidentially.
Thank you for doing your part in making Gotham City better, safer, stronger. Together, We Are The Answer.
Reply
Thanks to Matt! for the great tip on entering in the cops names from the Gotham Times at wearetheanswer.com, should have been obvious….I will have to try and see if I get the same message.
Here are some similar arcade posts
- Joker’s Personality Profile
- Today’s New Dark Knight Joker Image
- Dark Knight IMAX Prologue Leaked
- Interesting Arcade Links – 2008-04-30
- Three New Dark Knight Posters!
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Comments
I did end up getting an auto response from The Dark Knight’s wearetheanswer.com. It was just a confirmation email, to make sure I was the owner of that email address.
But since I wrote, a bunch of other websites have turned up, according to Hollywood Chicago.com. http://www.thehahahatimes.com is one of them, and the best one. I listed the rest above.
Oooh, a new one. The personality profile link at Why So Serious.com. I don’t know if that is old, for the old viral Dark Knight campaign or not…
And just so we all know, chiropteraphobia is the all consuming fear of bats and the pseudobulbar affect is uncontrollable laughter or crying, sometimes at the most inappropriate moments:) Some days I think I might have that.
I rated “Belly Buster” on the quiz.
“Thanks for playing! Your next test will occur in a few days, so keep your eyes open and a smile on your face.”
Maybe it was related to this campaign….
if you enter the names of the two cops from the article in the gotham times in the wearetheanswer tips page you get a message saying the cops are under investigation, they’ll use your information and they’ll get back to you in a few days as the D.A.’s office is closed at the weekends.
“Got an email back today from wearetheanswer.com Tips line. I had used a cop with the name “Bolland”, just for a test, as a tip to the well known Batman comic artist Brian Bolland. This is what I got back;”
I sent in the name Oliver Hammet, the corrupt cop who murdered the Joker’s wife in Hush Returns.
I didnt get an email back.
Ria,
That was a really creative entry. I bet you’ll get a response like mine.
I had heard that Joker had a wife in a Hush storyline, but admittedly, I don’t follow the comics as closely as I should / used to.
You should also try Matt’s suggestion and resubmit with the corrupt cops name’s in the Gotham Times article.
I think I will try that, just to see if there’s a different answer. I just got the email confirming my email address. :\
Oh wow. I just thought of several other entries we can do for cops.
Jim Forsythe, in the article
lt. James Gordon, (unorthodox methods and fraternizing with a known vigilante)
Commisioner Loeb (reasons from Batman: Year One)
Officer J. Kerr (for planting evidence at a crimescene.)
I also sent in a tip to wearetheanswer.org, but I made my about Det. Bullock, who I remembered from the movies and cartoons. I just got a call today from 000-000-0000, and it was an angry man who said I didn’t know anything about what it was like being a cop, especially two particular cops, although I only caught one name, McCrea — does that sound familiar to anyone? And then he went one about if I wanted to know the truth, I need to look for document LG6511 — again, I think that was the document, but I don’t know where to look for it. I checked my cell phone logs, and the call had come in a half hour earlier, but I hadn’t answered that one, and there is no message on my phone. Apparently the program was set to respond only when a human voice answered the call.
Carrie Lynn!
How awesome is that. Bullock is a very prominent cop throughout the comics, good choice. McCrea, hmmm, he may be a cop from the comics. I know he is a comic book artist, but I didn’t read every last detail of the Gotham Times and all of the other stuff, so he may just as well be from The Dark Knight and I Just don’t know. It is probably one of the two cops that stood by while Gina was killed.
As for that document, I would check whysoserious.com/masoleum I know I am. Check for the tips on how to get the vault to open, reset the time on your computer to 7:38 and it opens automatically with profile information. Maybe that file number is in the details of those graphics on that site!
Thanks for the tip and the update! Keep us posted
Very intriguing. I found the mausoleum, but I haven’t been able to get it to open. Even setting my computer to that time didn’t work. I’ve been trying a combination of numbers based on what I think I heard. LG6511 — hmm, it could be 11-65-11, or LG as numerics based on the basic alphanumeric code. The lock is a bit hard to turn, so maybe I just do not have the finesse for it.
I’m researching this marketing campaign for a paper, and I’d love to know if anyone has been able to get inside, and has a screen shot of the contents.
Hey there! its me again with the scoop. The phone calls werein response to any tip lines that went through, McCree is the cop you’re thinking of, and him and another cop were the ones who werent at the Italian Festival where Gina Tortericci was murdered.
the Mausoleum has nothing to do with this code, On the note next to the safe on that page it has a note, there’s bloodspots on it. The letters touching the bloodspots unscrambled says “Time for Taffy”
If you look onthe gotham times newspaper, Taffyface, a mobster was murdered at 7:38 AM, that is the key to solving the safe riddle. think outside the box. The answer is at the bottom of this post incase you want to know, if not don’t look.
I’m not sure what LG6551 could be, but I’m desperately searching. 😀
the key to opening the safe is turn your computer time to 7:38 am while on the safe page, it will open and give a page with a screenshot of someone’s police report, some money and other little trinkets.
Thanks. I just emailed Carrie with the AM, I wasn’t sure from my bad memory.
Here is the message that someone else got when they typed out the mysterious WeAreTheAnswer message;
We heard about the message you left at the DA’s office. I know you have some big ideas about being a good citizen. No one likes a squeeler. You know nothing.
They’re out there putting their lives on the line so you can sleep OK … and you’re laying in your bed. Let’s see what happens the next time you need someone in blue.
Think about who they are. Check document LC6551. You know where to look.
Do a Google search, I will when I get a second for that document. Here is what Hollywoodchicago got online.
LC6551 .R39 2005
Ray, Angela G.
Lyceum and public culture in the nineteenth-century United States.
East Lansing: Michigan State University Press, c2005
I have a ton of friends that graduated from MSU. I am sure we can get someone to look at that document to see if it is some sort of social commentary.
I just wonder if there is any connection to the Dark Knight film production to MSU, that would be cool if it was around my old stomping grounds.
The new church site is interesting: http://www.saintswithunschurch.org. They say you can look up records, so I tried Gina’s record and got nothing. See if anyone else can find out something on someone.
As I look at all this build up, I can’t help but wonder if we are going to be getting to a trailer release soon. There is New Line’s Golden Compass out next Friday (WB New Line), and then WB’s I Am Legend in two weeks. WB would be silly if they didn’t have the trailer in front of either of those movies, and if they keep on track with previous actions for this movie, then that would mean a trailer will be “uncovered” online soon.
Second, as I am researching this campaign academically, I would really love to talk to people who have participated in any aspect of this campaign — from those like us who are trying to find the secrets, to those who dressed as the Joker at ComicCon or Halloween. I’ve found some good blogs of people talking about their involvement. Can anyone point me to more?
Sorry, New Line is not owned, but they sometimes engage in deals with WB. This may be one of them — but my bets would be on I Am Legend. Either would be targeting the audience Dark Knight is also targeting.
It was already released about 3 weeks ago that The Dark Knight would have a trailer a 7 minute one, in front of I Am Legend on the 14th of December. I think it is only in IMAX, and it is the first 7 minutes of The Dark Knight the movie that they are showing, which I heard is supposed to setup Joker’s backstory in this Batman movie.
If you do a search, you will find posts about the IMAX footage for I Am Legend, and a number of photos that were among the first media released as promotional for the movie.
Great, thanks for the info. Now that I remembered the Time Warner owns both WB and New Line, I feel better.
Lyceum is reference to like a theatre, concert hall, in the traditional sense of the word. More modern, it’s also a reference to blogging.
Then there’s this LC6551 document, found here: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0QLQ/is_2007_May/ai_n19187307, that talks about democracy, public forums, and communication.
Other LC6551 books found also refer to democracy in some way.
Or it could be the certificates found over at the Church website, http://www.saintswithunschurch.org/, that reference Salvator Maroni, Eric Robert’s character.
Better yet, I’m crediting batmancontinues.blogspot.com with this catch on how to find the document, which is here: http://www.gothampolice.com/secureinternaldocuments/chechens.aspx
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November 23, 2007
I sent in things to each thing and I didnt recieve an autoresponse from wearetheanswer.com either.
Did you see on the front page of the Gotham Times there’s a rip in the first article. if you click it it peels back and reveals ha hahaha in red Arkham-Asylum esque font. Then if you click that it’ll take you over to
http://www.thehahahatimes.com
Yet another Marketing website. 😀