More, Better 'Cloverfield' Viral Marketing

I've gotten pretty worn out with all the viral marketing that seems to be essential to any big-budget film coming out in the next year, but in particular with the efforts of Cloverfield. While The Dark Knight's exhaustive campaign mixes real-life planted swag with online clue-hunting (still sort of annoying), Cloverfield has chosen a strategy more along the lines of here's something, figure it out. With a detailed website for a fictional corporation with no obvious connection to the monster attack and an out-of-touch, obvious jab at Japanese culture, each piece of the puzzle added to a final image that appeared to be an Ouroboros of apathy. OK, I get that frozen soda is somehow involved with the monster. So what?

But now, taking a route more similar to The Darjeeling Limited than Lost, JJ Abrams and company have released some clips that, while still somewhat cryptic, serve as more of a prelude to the film than an intentionally vague clue. This is what viral marketing should look like. Or just something with Will Ferrell shirtless.

See the clips and analysis here.