CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Exclusive: Chicago Police Break Up Harvey Dent Viral Marketing Campaign For ‘The Dark Knight’
CHICAGO – As we reported would happen on March 12, 2008, “The Dark Knight” enthusiasts indeed congregated in Chicago (as others will across the country on various other dates on this “Dentmobile” tour) to show their fictional campaign support for Harvey Dent – played by Aaron Eckhart in the July 18, 2008 superhero monolith – running for district attorney.
Those familiar with the film’s extensive viral marketing campaign enjoyed keeping “in character” and confusing uninformed Chicagoans who weren’t aware that the charade was actually in support of a storied politician within Hollywood. We feature below exclusive photos of the morning campaign from longtime HollywoodChicago.com source Vlkers54.
The morning campaign, which was supposed to run from 8 to 10 a.m., was cut short due to a Chicago police breakup after three minutes flat. Vlkers54 has provided us with the following detail about the morning.
Hey, Adam! Cops kicked us out!
I was at the 8 a.m. stop. I got there at 7:30 a.m. and I sure am glad I did. At 8:03 a.m., the cops came and kicked us out! Only me and another guy showed up, but we did end up getting a lot of free stuff [including] bumper stickers, posters, buttons and a T-shirt. You should have seen the people as they were coming out of the train station:
“Who is Harvey Dent?”
“What is this all about?”
“Is this for that movie?” (We responded: “What movie? ‘No Country For Old Men?’ That’s a movie!”)We kept “in character” and promoted Harvey Dent for [district attorney] as if he were a real person. Confusing people was a lot of fun. Some people did catch on to what was going on. Even middle-aged men who knew who [Harvey Dent] was were excited, [asked] for buttons and filled out the petition forms.
It was a lot of fun, but let’s hope the cops don’t ruin the 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. sessions. I can’t make the 11 a.m., but I will be at the 4 p.m. trail.
~ Vlkers54
From 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Chicago campaign will be meeting at Jackson Street and State Street. From 4 to 6 p.m., the Chicago campaign will be meeting at the Canal and Madison commuter station. A full list of other viral marketing cities, locations, times and dates can be found here.
“The Dark Knight” viral marketing site IBelieveInHarveyDent.com is publishing photos like the above from across the U.S. here.
10:16 p.m. update on March 13, 2008: We have learned that yet another new viral marketing site for “The Dark Knight” just went live: GothamElectionBoard.com. Why? You guessed it. There will be an actual election process for Harvey Dent with real voter registration cards sent in the mail. See this comment below for more information. A screenshot of the new site is below.
10:43 p.m. update on March 13, 2008: When it rains in “The Dark Knight” land, it usually pours. We just learned of yet another new viral site related to this campaign: GothamCityClerk.com. It announces the formulation of competition for this election campaign and implies the launch of even more viral sites. Read more about this in this comment below. A screenshot is below.
By ADAM FENDELMAN |
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questionnnnnnnnnn
ANYONE who’s gone to one of the campaigns, please let me know if everyone gets shirts or how you go about getting one.
Yes!
Just show up at the right time and at the right place and you should get hooked up with no problem. That’s the experience others have reported to us. They want you to spread the word and getting free stuff (shirts, bumper stickers, posters, buttons, etc.) is your reward for making the trek. :-)
awesome
Alright cool… my only concern is that I’m going to the last Madison stop of the day, and it makes me wonder whether they’ll be out of supplies at all, mainly shirts. That’d suck, seeing as I’m driving an hour to get there.
I hear you
Crossing my fingers for you!
T-shirt advice from Vlkers54
Tom,
For more feedback about your question, I just asked Vlkers54 because he has a lot of experience with this. He responded with:
thanks!
I got there about a half an hour early, and am please to say my girlfriend and I were both able to get shirts! In fact, they gave us both one, and then an extra one for “your friend that’s not here.” lol!
I also got the works. Poster, pins, stickers, etc. Overall a success!
Excellent!
Glad to hear it! We’ll continue to keep you updated!
New official e-mail: "Gotham Concerned Citizens Progress Report"
At 12:27 p.m. on March 19, 2008, I received the following follow-up e-mail related to this story.
Please Answer
I submitted a photo on the site on March 15, how long does the card take to get to your house?
This report referenced in Los Angeles Times on March 24, 2008
This report has been referenced in a March 24, 2008 news article in the following paragraph from the Los Angeles Times: