Levi’s and its agency, Wieden + Kennedy, are set to unleash a new Alternate Reality Game (ARG) on the denim wearing world.
At the center of the game is a character named Grayson Ozias IV. According to brand legend, Ozias was a friend of Levi Strauss’ nephew Nathan. A friend who disappeared into the American wilderness in 1896, after hiding his fortune for future adventurers to find.
The experience is part story, part scavenger hunt adventure and part puzzle game. It starts online, where the story–delivered via recreations of old wax cylinder voice recordings–follows the 1890s adventures of Ozias.
Players collect online clues which need to be fulfilled offline. Each real-world task involves a collectible clue, which players document and email to Levi’s. Each time a collectible is found and posted, it unlocks the next segment of story and more clue finding.
The final challenge will be revealed in mid-November as the game narrows to 100 finalists. These players will be given the last piece of the Ozias puzzle to decipher, and the first to solve it is the winner. The winner will receive $100,000.
By the way, Ozias is on Twitter, but not on Wikipedia.