A Lesson in Product Placement

You are not quite sure what product placement is? Don’t worry, not a big problem. Just watch the last episode of CSI: New York and pay attention to the scene containing the words “edoc laundry”. By the time it is over you would probably have a perfect idea of what well-integrated product placement is.

So, what is “edoc laundry”? Probably the most concise answer to this question is – an apparel manufacturing company. However, this does not tell the entire story. Because it is not only about the shirts and hats edoc makes that are hipster enough to be found in shops in West Village. What makes the garments so attractive is the secret code enciphered in the fabric of each piece of clothing. The key to understanding the code is hidden in the underbelly of the shirt. As Noah Robischon from Entertainment Weekly puts it: “this mysterious line of apparel… mixes fashion, technology and gaming.”

What is the game, then? Before you can even get started you need a piece of edoc clothing. After you have deciphered the code hidden in it (which is not such an easy task) you should go to www.edoclaundry.com and click on “nothing to hide”. The introductory video to the link sets the props for the game.

“Once upon a time, there was a band called Poor Richard. “It started off as a dream” and “spawned a revolution.” However, it “ended in murder.””

Your mission is to find out who is the murderer – presumably, the cloths will tell you the story. Each bit of the story leads to other secret messages, which will eventually lead you to webpages or even mobile phone numbers that will reveal you the whole truth. You can start off by entering "Call me a patriot", the code revealed in the CSI's episode to get a better understanding of what the game is all about. Hypothetically, there is some truth to the whole thing, however, no one has gotten far enough into the game to claim that with certainty.

In the world of gaming this is called alternate reality game – a type of game that overlaps the game world with reality, by utilizing real world media, in order to deliver an interactive narrative experience to the players. (wikipedia.com)

Alternate reality games are an innovative combination of a game, commercial, and art. And the producers of CSI have always been into plot line involving edgy culture-related staff. And even though it is generally really hard to find a product that matches the plot of your program well, this combination seems to be very successful. And this is probably not the last time we’ll see edoc on CSI.