This is My Milwaukee

The concept of using viral video for covert message dissemination is something that's been on my mind a lot lately. It was very fitting that I would stumble upon This Is My Milwaukee while I was browsing an image board over the weekend.

It wasn't long before the conversation had spread to Digg, MetaFilter, Something Awful, pretty much every website for their target demographic. They had obviously done something right. It was intriguing, bizarre, off-brand, and funny. But what was it for?

I would suggest taking a moment right now to watch the video below:



It's obviously positioning a video game for future release, right? Aside from the obvious, there were a lot of details that brought up further questions. First of all, it was filmed in Manhattan. Intentional or budgetary? Second, the fennel bulb. It was definitely a recurring character. Planted in the grass, showed up on the kids drawings, appeared in the Work segment, and a few other places. Third, The Rabbit Hole. Right now it’s kind of shallow. The Rabbit Hole, of course, refers to the potential to get lost in a story, led down the hole by a series of links, like the White Rabbit leading Alice. Before you know it, you’re in Wonderland, and have no idea how you got there. This is My Milwaukee has a rather shallow Rabbit Hole. Is there a second phase of information coming? Where is it leading us?

Anyway, it’s making the rounds and getting coverage. It’s well received and it has a high pass along rate. Pretty much what you could hope for in a viral campaign.