If alternate reality games (arg) are the next big thing in immersive marketing, then McDonald's deft and subtle The Lost Ring extravaganza
sets the bar high early in this game. Leveraging a long-standing relationship with the Olympics, McDonald's agency, akqa, crafted an enormous DaVinci Code-like experience in which more than 2
million users accessed historical documents, secret codes and a charismatic academic character, and communicated with each other to solve a mystery that culminated during the 2008 Games. Phenomenal
production values and fully absorbing game play made the experience more important than any ham-handed brand message. The sponsor leveraged the essence of gaming and immersion in alternate worlds
to create value for the audience and demonstrate a real kinship with gaming and the Games.