Campaign ‘The lost ring’
Client International Olympic Committee, McDonald’s
Agency AKQA
Game developer James McGonigal
Aim To create a global alternate reality game that allows users to immerse themselves in its mystery while incorporating the brand quietly.‘The lost ring’ relies on the collective intelligence of all its users to allow the game to unfold.
Execution ‘The lost ring’ tells the story of an athlete called Ariadne who wakes up in a labyrinth in South Africa, the only clue to her identity being a tattooed message in Esperanto meaning ‘find the lost ring’. She enlists the help of the public to find out who she is, and together they are led on a journey to an “incredible truth, just in time to bring the world together at the 2008 Olympic Games”.
Users are invited to watch ‘The lost ring’ trailer at thelostring.com (also uploaded to video-sharing sites) and then learn the legends of the ancient games, including The Lost Olympic Sport, by watching videos at thelostgames.com. Another website allows users to interact with the global cast of characters and read their blogs in eight different languages at findthelostring.com.
In addition, there is a wiki (http://olympics.wikibruce.com/ Home) where players can share clues, information and catch up on the story. Finally, there is an Esperanto Google users group at http://groups.google.com/group/tlrp.
Results So far the English Youtube trailer has had around half a million views and traffic is building on the sites, but the intelligent nature of the game will limit its mass appeal.A project with huge scope and vision, the worst thing you can say about ‘The lost ring’ is that it may be too clever for its own good.
