Some may think that running a site like this gives me the opportunity to get some exclusive screening of The Dark Knight Rises. I am here to tell you that just like the majority of those reading this, I will be in line at my local IMAX theater hours before midnight anxiously anticipating Nolan's last take on Batman. The thing is that today is like Christmas Eve for us Bat-fans. We have been waiting along time for this and in turn I'm sure we will not be disappointed.
I wanted to share with everyone what I call my TDKR moment. The truth is that this has been a very long moment. But to give a little history, back in 2008 when The Dark Knight was the most anticipated movie of the year, I lived in the middle of central Kansas. The nearest large city was over two hours away. Even though I didn't run the site and all we had was one bi-weekly podcast, I lived for the moment and attended every viral marketing event that I could, even if it meant driving five hours round trip. To this day my collection would not be what it is if these viral items were not apart of it.
Now while the viral campaign has not been as extraordinary for The Dark Knight Rises, Warner Bros. has done a pretty good job and teaming with marketing partners to create some unique events for Bat-fans. Who can forget the Bane tube that we revealed on the site? I know I never will. But in addition to that, the list of activities to participate in is almost made waiting for the film worth the wait. So allow me a couple of minutes to share some of these unique items courtesy of Warner Bros. and their marketing partners.
The first one that really got me excited was the release of the internet based, The Fire Rises. I have always been a fan of RTS -type games. I barely have time to play any games, but I found myself addicted to this when there was still only two levels to play. I played so much that at one point I was ranked #15 in the world.
Another activity that was released by Warner Bros. was the Tumbler Designer. This was another thing that I spent way too much time on, but in the end it was completely worth it.
Did you ever check out Gotham's Most Wanted? The idea is to create an image of you as either Batman, Catwoman or Bane. While I would make a pretty bad looking Catwoman, here is me as Bane and Batman.
The other event has been the Mountain Dew exclusive contest. By saving Mountain Dew points you can win a ton of cool prizes. Besides drinking the new Dark Knight Berry flavor, I accumulated a ton of points and will be drinking Mountain Dew for awhile.
But there was also a ton of other things related to this campaign. Below is an image of the stairs leading to my basement and as creepy as it is a display at a local grocery store. There was also another mugshot opportunity.
Overall, I just wanted to share that this is the time to live for TDKR moment. The film will release tonight and a lot of us will be seeing it. But remember not to worry. This may be Nolan's last film, but Batman will always be bigger than one person. Comics will still release every week. There probably will never be a year that goes by where Batman is not on TV in some sort. And there is always The Batman Universe pointing you to where Bat-fans can get there Bat-fix. I will be waiting in line with the rest of you, just as excited as anyone else.
So enjoy the moment that is now and remember that this release will only happen once for us. Bat-fans, tonight is our night!
Posted by Dustin Fritschel
