yeah I'm kinda annoyed that one of my favorite bits of internet whimsy is using its last moment to sell some lousy ARG
leigh alexander did a
great write-up about the lousiness of marketing ARGs in general a few years back that pretty thoroughly lays out why they are shitty
keystone paragraph:
"But ARGs prey on the natural desire that all people have had, since childhood, to stumble upon a special secret -- and subvert that desire into the service of a marketing campaign. I always think of poor Ralphie in A Christmas Story. Feeling anxious and marginalized as children often do, the kid hoped by ordering a Little Orphan Annie decoder ring, a prize from Ovaltine that tied into the radio drama he enjoyed, he could be needed, part of a global community of heroes. Of course, many people have seen the film: The message Ralphie uses the long-awaited ring to decode is 'BUY MORE OVALTINE.' When I think about ARGs, I think about his crushed expression."