Serial killer 'Dexter' runs amok in Singapore

FoxCrime has embarked on an extensive online viral and guerrilla campaign to launch the second season of its crime series "Dexter" - forensics expert by profession and vigilante serial killer by choice.

The campaign utilises the current atmosphere of uneasiness to scare people in Singapore and Hong Kong out of their comfort zones and heighten their curiosity about Dexter and vis-à-vis FoxCrime. It started in Singapore and Hong Kong mid-May with emails, leading to a mock-news website featuring a personalised video to the recipient, warning them that a serial killer at large has chosen them as the next victim. It was followed by a severed bloodied finger sent through mail to selected recipients. A similar campaign ran in the UK last year when the series launched.

Last Friday, the guerrilla campaign went into high gear with spoofed posters featuring Dexter's headshot plastered islandwide, simulating the wanted posters of fugitive Mas Selamat bin Kastari issued by the Singapore Police. There were also hijacks of popular YouTube videos, a guerrilla walker campaign that saw bloodied lab technicians carrying ‘Dexter' suitcases strolling through town over the weekend, and gatecrashing of several events and venues like the Anlene Orchard Mile run, The IT SHOW at Suntec City, and Ministry of Sound.

Basil Chua, marketing director of Fox International Channels Asia, said, "The campaign is multi-faceted in its guerrilla and viral approach, and since its launch two days ago, as tracked by Google analytics, we have already seen an 87% rise in the number of clicks on the campaign microsite at bloodseason.com."

The campaign was conceptualised by TSLA. Fox's guerrilla AOR boasts that no money was spent on media buys.