LOST in Viral Marketing brilliance

It's official... the producers of ABC's hit show LOST are freakin' brilliant. They have succeeded in creating a viral marketing juggernaut.

There's the edge-of-your-seat show, of course, and the myriad theories that abound out of that. But the tie-ins beyond the show are what have me totally in awe.

It started for me with the faux Oceanic Air website, and the easter eggs hidden within. Then came the first iteration of the Hanso Foundation website which had a couple tidbits, but nothing too fancy.

But now, oh man, things have exploded. The game is on - literally. The LOST folks have created an intricately layered game of easter eggs and clues spread across the show, a slickly revamped Hanso Foundation website, fake TV commercials (both during their show, as well as others), a fake corporate phone number, a fake manuscript - "Bad Twin" from the show that has been "published" as a book, fake ads in several metro papers and corporate tie-ins.

While I'm hopelessly hooked on all of it, the marketing guy in me is enamored by the Sprite product tie-in. Sprite's commercial is piped in on the on-hold music when you call the phone number. The latest TV commercial contains the words "paid for by Sprite" in the corner. The website in that ad is www.SubLYMONal.com - and the emphasis on LYMON is part of the site - a not-so-veiled reference to their old marketing campaign combining Lime & Lemon.

Stay tuned to see how it unfolds... I have no choice... I've been brainwashed by the Others.