Terminator 2: Killer viral's a cut above but gets backlash

Revolution UK 14-Mar-05, 16:58

Even the most jaded aficionado of viral emails would raise an eyebrow or two if they received one telling them that a serial killer was after people who shared their name.

Clearly, that was the thinking behind the latest digital and direct push for Five's new fictional crime series, CSI:NY, which sends you headlines about a killer the cops are hunting.

The ASA and Five gained complaints about the offline parts of the campaign, but the online part is very involving. One piece of video has the 'killer' ringing the police to warn them he's targeting victims with your name.

Bullet trajectories and impacts are plotted, like The Warren Report in 3D; security camera footage is examined and photo-fits constructed.

OK, it's hardly Quincy, but a very 2005 way of catching a criminal.

Apparently, the emails being sent by the killer to the police are notable for their lack of punctuation. Really? That point alone would narrow the list of suspects to several billion email users worldwide. It's like saying a teenager's text message is notable for its lack of vowels.