This year, the fun doesn’t end when the credits roll on the season finale episode of “Lost.” Fans won’t have to spend the entire summer waiting for new episodes and scrutinizing the old ones for clues they may have missed the first time around–though many viewers will undoubtedly do just that.
Instead, ABC offers a whole new outlet for the legion of conspiracy theorists: a multimedia treasure hunt that “makes use of e-mail messages, phone calls, commercials, billboards and fake Web sites that are made to seem real.” Dubbed “The Lost Experience,” the alternate-reality game will introduce new characters and add a new layer of depth to the show’s already hatch-deep mythology.
Although alternate-reality gaming (ARG) has often been used by marketers to introduce new products (such as the much-heralded “I Love Bees” launch for Halo 2), ABC emphasizes that “The Lost Experience” was created by the show’s writers, including the highly talented Damon Lindelof, not by soulless marketers, and is therefore designed to enhance viewers’ relationship with the show rather than to shill product.
Of course, that said, the article closes by indicating that the game begins May 3, and viewers should TiVo it “but don’t skip the commercials.” Thus, the gaming experience will not be entirely shill-free — and you can bet the episode’s advertisers are paying a premium for the privilege.
