DEXTER

Alternate Reality Game

Problem: Showtime needed to launch Dexter Season 5 in a way that matched the show itself. Dark, intelligent, and completely unlike anything else on television. A standard campaign wasn't going to cut it.

Solution: We didn't make an ad. We built a world. A vigilante serial huntress was stalking the Infinity Killer, leaving a breadcrumb trail of cryptic clues across the internet and the real world. Fans decoded riddles, hacked hidden sites, uncovered secret content, and followed the story into live events where fiction and reality deliberately blurred. It was one of the first campaigns to use crowdsourced crime solving as a storytelling device, with fans collectively hunting a killer months before the Boston Marathon bombing made that concept known to the entire world.

How: Transmedia campaign spanning video, print, digital, social, experiential, and full alternate reality game production. The Serial Huntress became a piece of living Dexter lore, archived by devoted fans who chronicled every puzzle and every hidden kill room. The campaign helped deliver the highest rated season premiere in Showtime's history.

Recognition: Primetime Emmy Award. Webby Award, People's Voice Winner. One Show Interactive Finalist. SXSW Interactive Finalist. LA Weekly Best Street Marketing Campaign.


CLIENT: Showtime

AGENCY: Modernista!

CCO’s: Gary Keopke, Lance Jensen

CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Xavier Teo

ART DIRECTION: Tony Frusciante

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Tony Frusciante

Copy: Lorelei Brandoveschi

UPDATE: December 2020

Ten years removed from when this work was completed, while working at Boston-based agency Modernista!, the Dexter ARG is finding a resurgence. With the announcement of a limited reboot of the Dexter show, fan hunger for Dexter-related projects has increased. The following videos are compiled from the notes, videos, and experiences from fans who still love this alternate reality game today.