Fox’s supernatural ‘Where’s Waldo’ viral marketing campaign hit the streets of major cities and TV screens this week with what’s dubbed by the network as “Observer Week”, beginning with placing actors as the mysterious “Observers” in live Fox telecasts of the NFL game on Sunday and “So You Think You Can Dance”. This Easter Egg-style campaign builds anticipation for this week’s ep of “Fringe” in which Observers (heavy emphasis on the plural form of the word) are the focus. These Observers have been spotted at each ‘Pattern’ event in the show.
For “Fringe” fans, spotting Observers on other programs on Fox is nothing new- the network placed several Observers at a Nascar event and also on “American Idol” last year. What’s new this time around is that Fox is sending out street teams of actors dressed as Observers in major cities that include Los Angeles, Atlanta, New York City, Boston, and Chicago.
These Observer actors are dressed in the uniform of the Observer- dark retro-style suits, bald heads, always carrying a briefcase and they will give the gift of Tabasco sauce (nod to their pension towards using copious amounts of the sauce with their meals) when spotted.
Ardent fans will hope to find the seven-frame graphics hidden throughout the network’s primetime broadcast throughout the evening of this week’s “Fringe”.
Can you spot the Observers in this broadcast of the NFL football game?
“Fringe” has been hurting in the ratings department having dropped to five million viewers, but performing stronger in DVR numbers. The network hopes that this interaction with the fans will bolster the show’s numbers and get more people to watch broadcasts live to look for the Observers. Fox has just concluded a similar campaign with references to “The Simpsons” seeded within its other primetime shows last week.
Check out this sneak peek into tomorrow’s much anticipated ep of “Fringe”, entitled “August”:
Track the Observer sightings on the Observers Trackers Facebook page here. Today, Observers have been spotted in Los Angeles and Atlanta. It seems to reason that they will be in NYC, Boston, and Chicago tomorrow! Upload your sightings! Check out the pics below (click on images to embiggen).
UPDATE: The Observers are coming again Thursday to Chicago, NY & Boston. Look for them starting at 7am in NY at the Newscorp Bldg and in Boston at the South Station T-Station. Starting at 8:45am they’ll be in Chicago on the CTA Brown Line headed to Michigan Ave, Wacker Dr & State St.
Watch “Fringe” on Fox, Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
[Commentary]
HOLY CRAP! Was that Galen (a Technomage on Babylon 5: Crusade) as the Observer in the sneak peek? Hells, yeah!! I can’t say how great it is to see Peter Woodward back on TV. I heart my fave Technomage!
[Source] Variety
