OK, I'll admit it - I'm an A&E freak. Most of the shows I regularly watch ("The Sopranos," "The First 48," and "Crime 360") are on A&E.
I've noticed it's the only channel where I've seen the "
WhatHappenedInPiedmont.com" ad. It shows, via "home video," a dog walking through a quiet suburban street, yet something is strangely wrong. As the camera pulls back from the tight shot, we see bodies are strewn everywhere.
There's no voiceover, and the ad ends with a fade to black, with the URL appearing.
I figured it might be a movie or something, because I hadn't heard anything in the news (or from my conspiracy theory RSS feeds) about Piedmont. But, after seeing the ad at least 20 times, one's curiosity must be satisfied.
So, I key in the URL. There's some "blog" (complete with a Twitter logo at the bottom) written by one Andrew Tobler, about "weird goings-on" in Piedmont, Utah.
Checking the registration of the domain, I see that it's managed by CSC Corporate Domains, a Canadian domain management firm. Searching for 'Piedmont, Utah," I get
this story from the NBC affiliate in Salt Lake, KSL Channel 5.
Apparently, the ads and blog are for A&E's mini-series remake of "The Andromeda Strain." It was shot in Canada, which may explain the production company hiring a Canadian firm to manage the domain.
I like the idea behind the ad, but it's execution was a little too "conspiracy theory" to me. And the blog is kind of weak. Not Captain Morgan-corpo-blog weak, but not real convincing to anyone over 14. Maybe that's the intended audience.
It does have the required YouTube clip, and there's a recorded "phone message" on the blog so contrived it borders on hilarious. One comment on the story at the KSL website called the writing on the blog - get this - "plotty." Good catch, Lisa K.
The original version took place in Piedmont, Arizona, and the novel was written by Michael Crichton in 1969.
Labels: A and E, advertising, andrew tobler, andromeda strain, coporate blogging, mini series, tv, viral marketing
