Decoding the Buzz Marketing for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo movie:

The marketing folks behind the upcoming David Fincher-directed/Sony film version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo have begun an underground marketing campaign releasing clues to where props and other collateral from the film are hidden, and then issuing congratulating certificates to the finders. The latest item is Lisbeth Salander’s motorcycle helmet. See this report from FirstShowing.net:

Lisbeth’s Motorcycle Helmet Found in Ongoing ‘Dragon Tattoo’ Viral
November 11, 2011
by Alex Billington

If you’re not already following the ongoing viral for David Fincher’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, here’s even more reason to be. Someone in San Fran recently picked up the real prop motorcycle helmet worn byLisbeth Salander, played by Rooney Mara. The image was revealed on the What is Hidden in Snow viral site where every so often, connected with Mouth Taped Shut, a GPS location is posted and the first person to make it there picks up an extremely rare, collectible item. For the first few weeks it was one of the framed flowersfrom the film, now it’s a helmet, and Harriet’s diary was also found recently, too. Damn!

So how did they find this and how can you participate? Well, if you’re not already following Mouth-Taped-Shut.com on a daily basis, that’s where you should be checking. Each new image posted there usually has a clue or code hidden within, and the commenters on each post are fairly helpful. The image will unlock a new domain name which gets plugged into WhatIsHiddenInSnow.com (for example /victim). From there, once each new location goes up, you’ve got to be the first to make it to the GPS coordinates listed before anyone else, and you’ll pick-up a package, usually labeled to Henrik Vanger (Christopher Plummer in the film).

We just found out that the helmet was picked up by @ababer and his friend, who posted at least one photo (see below) of the note and package. Seems like a truly amazing piece of the cinema history to acquire. You can also see a photo on the WIHIS site as well as images of the 14 flowers, plus Harriet’s diary, that have been picked up so far. Considering there should be 40 flowers (referencing how long Harriet’s been missing), there’s still plenty more to be found all over the world, so don’t give up on this yet! More photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even if you’re not following all of the individual story elements of this viral, since there’s a lot of tricky deciphering and decoding in relation to each new image, you’ve got to at least recognize how cool the items being picked up are. I have no idea how they got David Fincher to agree to give exclusive props from the film out as fan prizes for those following this viral, but it’s so awesome to see. Don’t forget, each package includes hand-signed note from Fincher confirming its authenticity. Don’t miss out, this stuff is incredibly rare and I’m already jealous of everyone who’s picked one up. I’ve been following this viral closely and will definitely continue watching, as all of this might be leading to something big in the end. Only time will tell!

Full report at: http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/lisbeths-motorcycle-helmet-found-in-the-ongoing-dragon-tattoo-viral/