VIRAL NEWS

The Gotham Times is Online and The Ha Ha Ha Times, Too!

by Alex Billington
November 23, 2007

Are you on a Batman high yet from The Dark Knight featurette we ran this morning? He's another viral marketing site from Warner Brothers for The Dark Knight - The Gotham Times newspaper online version. Hit it up right at TheGothamTimes.com. Apparently actual printed copies of this newspaper arrived to people who submitted photos of themselves in Joker face paint at RorysDeathKiss.com from the last viral marketing game. Just make note - there are 4 pages of the newspaper and you can browse through each by clicking the page number in the upper right hand corner.

My favorites articles and features from The Gotham Times are:

» Do You Know A Corrupt Cop? (Page 1)
» Memorial service scheduled for Vishnu the Elephant (Page 2)
» Playboy Bruce Wayne Can't Stop Partying (Page 3)
» Gotham Girl Guides Regroup After Cookie Theft Setback (Page 3)
» Rash of Clown Sightings Jolts Worried City (Page 4)

I'm impressed that someone went through and wrote up 4 full pages of fake articles about Gotham City, but I guess that's fantastic marketing right there.

UPDATE - The Ha Ha Ha Times

That mischievous Joker has defaced The Gotham Times and turned it into The Ha Ha Ha Times!! All 4 pages of the exact same paper are there, but this time they're defaced and changed by the Joker himself! Check out TheHaHaHaTimes.com for the Joker's version of the paper. If I were a self-respecting Joker follower or even a Batman fan, I'd read through the Joker's version of The Ha Ha Ha Times and check out all of the items that are circled in red and look for any particular clues. We'll update this page if anything major is found.

UPDATE - Five More Viral Sites
I knew there'd be a lot of sneaky stuff coming from the newspapers! Apparently multiple new viral sites have popped up, each with its own little perk and each making this whole viral marketing game even more confusing. What is it there for and why? Who knows?!

Joker's Personality Profile - whysoserious.com/personalityprofile/
A 14 question survey ranks you from "Mime" to "A Scream" on Joker's personality scale. What and why is yet to be discovered on this, but it has something to do with joining Joker's army.

GothamPolice.com
The website for the Gotham Police Department where you can apply for recruitment (even corrupt officers I suppose).

WeAretheAnswer.org
A page to submit crime tips for the Gotham Police Department.

GothamNationalBank.com
The website for Gotham National Bank, which is presumably the one that gets robbed by Joker in The Dark Knight.

RememberingGina.org
A website made in memory of Gina Tortericci, the girl who was killed in Gotham City and is featured in a big article in The Gotham Times Page 4 titled "Gang War Claims Girl."

Are all of these extra viral websites just random links that needed to be filled? Or will they eventually have something to do with the movie and/or include some special sneak peek or exclusive photo or something? Who knows! Only time will tell, I guess.

The Dark Knight arrives in theaters next summer on July 18th, 2008. Keep up to date on all the latest happenings, news, viral marketing events, and everything The Dark Knight related right here at FS.net!

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