35: volvo still thinks edward cullen is dreamy... but then again, who doesn't?

It's not that I'm a big Twilight fan. Honestly. But whenever any Twilight-related ads come out, I can't help but be drawn to them. (So what if I find Robert Pattinson handsome as anything? I can't help it. He was made that way.)

I discussed Volvo's marketing approach for New Moon in an older post (click), and I'm sure you'll be thrilled to hear that, in conjunction with its Boston-based ad agency Arnold Worldwide, Volvo Cars of North America is launching another online campaign to promote its XC60. Excellent timing, of course, since Eclipse -- the third and sappiest installment of the Twilight franchise -- premieres in one week on June 30.

(I'm both slightly embarrassed and oddly proud to announce that I have a pass to see an advanced screening of Eclipse on June 29, courtesy of my friend Stephanie. Not Meyer.)


The campaign is called "Lost in Forks," and features print and TV advertisements starring RPattz and K.Stew, as well as an online game, developed by Euro 4D. The goal of the game is to reach the fabulous Cullen home "in the shortest number of steps, by successfully navigating a series of forks" (hah, forks... good one...). If you manage to find Edward's impossibly hidden house*, your name will be entered for a chance to win a Volvo XC60. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, you too can have Edward's personal car! Oh, Stephenie Meyer... you have worked such wonders for Volvo.

Apparently there are clues at each fork in the road, some of which are actually misleading (w-t-f?), so you really do have to know your Twilight stuff (update: no, you really don't). As the game goes on, you can click on things and find Easter eggs, which as far as I can tell, include brief little montages and video clips related to the film. Oh wait, I just found some wallpapers! You guys! Now I can have a line of newborn vampires on my desktop! Wow, Euro 4D. You went all out.

1024 x 768 right click save as, please	1280 x 1024 right click save as, please

Interested? You can play the game and check out the campaign here. Don't be ashamed. I've been playing it too. It's kind of convoluted and fun and REALLY difficult and also incredibly true to life, because if I had to find Edward's house on my own, I'd probably get lost a thousand times over. (Sorry to all the people who are Google-searching "how to find edward cullen's house" and ending up here instead! That said, I have finally found the Cullens' awesome home, after constructing a tree diagram to map my steps.) Lost in Forks, indeed.


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*Seriously? No wonder the Cullens have no non-human friends... Can you imagine having to give directions to people? "You really should stay away from me. You might get lost in the forest and be eaten by wolves. It actually would be my fault this time." "It REALLY WILL BE like I never existed because you probably won't be able to find my house again, anyway!" Oh, Edward. How you underestimated Bella back in New Moon. It's like she's got a GPS system installed in her brain.