Wonder Woman 1984 & Microsoft
Hunt for wonder
Digital Campaign
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An online scavenger hunt
spanning decades
Everyone loves the ’80s. It was an era defined by excess. Outrageous fashion. Neon. And MTV. But there was a dark side too. In Wonder Woman 1984, the world is in danger from greed-fueled destruction. Normally, Wonder Woman saves the world with super strength and agility, her Lasso of Truth, and Invisible Plane. But in WW84, she must also use tech, turning the technology used for power and corruption into a solution for the greater good. In partnership with Microsoft, Warner Brothers and the Smithsonian, we brought the spirit of the film to life with an interactive scavenger hunt that engaged the next generation of coders and creators to not just use technology, but solve challenges with it.
Strategy
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Technology is a superpower
The power dynamic in Wonder Woman 1984 presented an ideal partnership for Microsoft, whose mission is to empower every person on the planet to acheive more. In other words, in the right hands, technology can be harnessed as a superpower for good. Even everyday, non-superpowered people. Instead of a story-driven video experience, we took a different tack and empowered fans to experience for themselves how technology can help them solve problems, crack codes, and even do some good.
The hunt begins on social
We expanded the film’s universe and called for fans to help Wonder Woman recover her missing sword and shield, testing their valor and technical know-how to unlock code words hidden across the internet.
Over two weeks, we released cryptic posts on social channels that drove fans to Wonder Woman-themed online experiences. Each one a challenge requiring different skills like codebreaking, HTML, and advanced search functions to progress and move the mystery forward.
The sacred file challenge
For the first challenge of the hunt, we posted a glitched image and told our audience that there could be something critical to the mission embedded inside. With a few helpful clues, we prompted our audience to download the image to their desktop for further investigation.
Formatting the solution
To solve the challenge, our fans had to edit the file extension from “.jpg” to “.html”. When the image was converted to .html and opened in a browser, it revealed a secret digital dossier. The dossier detailed a secret government project to find supernatural objects linked to gods and goddesses and included the code word to complete the mission.
For your ears only challenge
Our second challenge featured a binary sequence posted on Microsoft social channels. We challenged our audience to figure out what it meeant. When it was decoded, a phone number for Black Gold International customer service was revealed.
Code: cracked
By plugging the code into a binary converter on the web, the user was presented with a series of numbers and letters (8883MXLORD), which upon clever thinking, was revealed to be a phone number. When the number wascalled, the user was greeted by a cryptic message that contained the secret code word.
A few of the other clues
Mission hub
The more puzzles solved and skill learned, the more they earned. Completing each challenge unlocked a new tier of prizes at the campaign's mission hub, where fans could also find exclusive branded content as well as opportunities to learn more, courtesy of the Smithsonian.
More importantly, the campaign celebrated what’s possible when curious minds meet incredible technology and showed the next generation of coders and creators that their passion has the power to save the world.
Play along
Contact
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503-313-3491