Watching Lost

I am pretty sure Losties have seen a lot of this video and have heard a lot of the buzz going about it. But just the same, I’m still sharing it, in anticipation of the premiere next week.

In relation to this, several billboards have been spotted across states which fans of the series easily recognize. One particular billboard in Knoxville (Sawyer’s hometown) even stirred much controversy when it was hit with vandalism, which was admittedly part of a marketing campaign. Zwire reports:

Mary Porath, a sales representative for the Lamar Advertising Company, acknowledged her company spray painted the word find815.com on the Oceanic airlines billboard located near 815 S. Duff Ave.

“It was one of our people,” said Porath, who works in Waterloo. “We had it done during the middle of the day.” The billboard ties into an alternative reality game “Find815″ for the television show “Lost.” The ABC-show follows the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815, flying from Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles. The plane crashed on an island in the Pacific Ocean and the Emmy-award winning drama tells the story of 69 survivors as they explore the island. The flight, airline and characters are all fictitious.

Porath said the order for the Oceanic ad was sent from the national corporation and that she knew about it a month or two ago. The order required Lamar to put up the advertisement and have someone spray paint “find815.com”, the central Web site for the game, on it Monday.

Porath would not comment on who bought the ad and how long it is scheduled to run, but she did say it was done to be part of the game.

“I know the billboard was purchased because of the show,” Porath said. “I can’t tell anything more, but that’s what was in mind.”

Pop Candy yesterday also reports that a new billboard has just been spotted in Tallahassee, Florida.

Lost is one series so clever with their viral marketing campaign, no? It’s more than just about watching a television show. It’s really an experience.

Lost, Lost viral marketing, Oceanic Air