By Robbie
Graham
The viral marketing campaign for
Men in Black 3 is intensifying in anticipation the movie’s May 25
release date. Late last year, a mock conspiracy theory
blog popped
up run by a UFO-obsessed 14-year-old boy
calling himself "BugEyes126.” Back in January this year, BugEyes dropped hints that the Large Hadron Collider might be
making an appearance in Men in Black
3.
Things just got a whole lot more interesting, however. This morning, ComingSoon.net spotted an intriguing poster in the New York City subway...
By dialling the number on the poster (which I did), callers are greeted with the
following message from BugEyes himself:
“Hey, I’m BugEyes, and this phone call just might change your life forever. What if I told you nothing is what it seems and everything you thought you knew was a lie? Welcome to the Men in Black Suites Are Real Hotline.”
“Hey, I’m BugEyes, and this phone call just might change your life forever. What if I told you nothing is what it seems and everything you thought you knew was a lie? Welcome to the Men in Black Suites Are Real Hotline.”
The caller is then presented with a
number of options to access further information. If you press #1, BugEyes tells
you:
“First, I need you to know this mission
is both critical and risky. Extraterrestrials live among us. Seriously. How cool
is that, right? But even cooler than that – there’s a secret organisation of
these Men in Black suits that watch over
them.”
BugEyes then tells you he needs your
help:
“If you have any information on
extraterrestrial sightings... I want to hear from
you.”
Finally, BugEyes hits you with a
slightly sinister disclaimer:
“By leaving your message, you grant
TheMeninBlackSuitsAreReal.com permission to use your voice and
anything you tell me about yourself, and any portion of the content of your
message in audio or text form as part of the MIBs experience without additional
consent or compensation. Just letting you know.”
You are then encouraged “to leave a message on any extraterrestrial activity in your neighbourhood.”
Will callers’ messages end up being
used in a future stage of the MIB 3 viral campaign? If so, then
- assuming any callers are gullible enough to report genuine UFO encounters - Men
in Black 3 may be taking Hollywood’s historical blurring of UFO fact and
fantasy to
a whole new level.
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