Weekend Update: 1-18-08 Ripoff And The Slusho Site Updated

10/13/07

Weekend Update: 1-18-08 Ripoff And The Slusho Site Updated

10/13/2007 |

Posted by Dave and Thomas

Two new buttons have been added to the Slusho homepage. The first one advertises 'Distribution Opportunities' and encourages you to join the Slusho family as they are getting ready to expand to the West.

It goes on to say that as soon as Slusho gets the FDA and other paperwork approved, representatives and scientists will be sent out to teach you how to operate and mix Slusho correctly.

Two notes of interest are that the Slusho website references the parent company, Tagruato, for the first time. Second, they refer to Slusho's secret ingredient by name as 'Seabed's Nectar.'

Here is the text from the 'distribution page':

Join the Slusho! Team soon!!! Distribution Opportunities available by contacting us through our parent, TAGRUATO! Extensive research reveals that our incredibly tasty flavor mixtures would be loved throughout the West! Become a pioneer, spread Noriko's dream and purchase a Slusho! machine for your store today! We will send representatives and scientists who will train you on how to operate our machine, and preserve the flavor of our special ingredient, Seabed's Nectar!! And what is more, we will have the special flavor tasties delivered bi-weekly, right to your storefront!!! We are highly optimistic that the FDA and other such organizations will quickly approve our ingredient for consumption in the West. They need only look to the East to see its remarkable health benefits
- it is nutritious and thrifty!

TEL +81-3-5403-6318
18KagashimaD@tagruato.jp

The second button does not link to anything yet but when you click it a text ballon comes up and states: "We are coming. We will find you soon."

Also, Film Threat points out a copycat movie studio that is cashing in on the success of 1-18-08 by producing their own version to be released on DVD the same week the official 1-18-08 movie heads to theaters. It also looks like this isn't the first time this company has done this.

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Labels: 1-18-08, 1-18-08 movie, bad robot, cloverfield, jamie and teddy, JJ Abrams, Slusho, Tagruato, The Little Whale

2 comments:

hmghosthost said...: So here's what I've got so far. I'm sure some of it has already been noted here, but I will include everything I know.

For those of you who are not aware, http://www.tagruato.jp/index2.php is a major link to the whole thing. You'll note that it is a "company" claiming to be the owners of Slusho, as well as pioneers in deep sea biotech, space exploration and arms manufacturing, and other 1/18/08-related themes. Interestingly, this "company's" website is an INDEX page from ANOTHER 1-18-08 related site (which I can’t seem to find again). But the biggest link between this site and the Slusho site, to prove they are connected, is that on the Slusho.jp site, on the Distribution Opportunities page, you will see the Tagruato logo in the background!

If you go to Slusho.jp, and click the link to the merchandise they sell, you will see the cartoon characters modeling the available clothes on a runway. But look in the background behind the cameramen! All of the people in the back are doing sign language!!!! Many of the signed letters are easy to distinguish, and there are a couple "I Love You" hand signs, but I can't make out the rest to see what it all spells.
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OK now the SlushoZoom.com Site's pictures.

One of the character's thought bubble on slusho.jp says "Slusho makes me zooom", and slushozoom.com had some interesting stuff. On the main page are about ten works of art, each linked to another site. At the top of the page it says: In the beginning, there was more than one to inherit the wind. The sea is the womb. One overcame the other. Extinct does not always mean dead.

This is OBVIOUSLY a reference to the monster of this movie, having come from the sea. Interestingly enough, in the H.P. Lovecraft legend of Cthulhu it says, "In his house at R’lyeh dead Cthulhu lies dreaming. That which can eternal lie, cannot die and over strange aeons even death may die" -which echoes the words at this site: "Extinct does not always mean dead."

In this page is one of those things that send chills up your spine when you see it, because it comes as such a surprise when you accidently discover it. There are hidden words on the page. To see the words, click anywhere on that page and do Ctrl+A to highlight everything. At the bottom of the page these hidden words appear, "DID THE PAST EVER EXIST, IF THERE IS NO PROOF? KNOWING ART BY NAME IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS KNOWING ART BY SITE. ALL IS NOT AS IT APPEARS"

Now for the picture links:
One picture links to a genetics page. Now, if the ingredients of SLUSHO changes life forms into monsters (whales), as it says on the Slusho site, this is genetics tampering. See the Tagruato site I mentioned above, which claims ownership of SLUSHO, and you will see they do biological and deep sea research!!

Another picture link goes to a receipe for mokaing cheese. This is a key link to the Slusho site, where the thought bubble of a fish shows a wedge of cheese!!

Another picture link takes you to a japanese movie from 1966. But this isn't just ANY old movie. It is the movie FRANKENSTEIN. Now what else would you call a biologically engineered creature?! We commonly reference Frankenstein with any freak of nature or botched biological experiment.

Another picture is an advertizement for a forth-coming bath house. The link once took you to a page asking for a donation of 25 cents thru paypal email address saveus@slushozoom.com. A now-removed picture of an octupus (Cthilhu?!) under it said "wait 6 days for a response. The new page linked to this picture shows a photo of a demolished car on fire on a wrecked street looking just like the one in the movie trailor! It no longer asks for donations but now says this: "So sorry - but the bath fund will is Closed due to [car picture inserted here]. At the end of the world, after all my efforts were wasted. What I would not have given for just a simple bath. PRIMA ! Look at me, you’re going to make it through this, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. You will receive what you need." This page also has the hidden words, "Not all things are as they appear".

Another picture is that of the Slusho logo and links to that site. This is the most blatant link to the movie. However the question "can you drink just six?" has replaced the original logo name of "You can't drink just six". Also, this logo for Slusho is identical to the logo on the shirt of the guy in the movie - which is a different design than the one on the Slusho website - with the exception of the rays of light missing that are seen on the guy's shirt.

At the bottom of the main page are two tiny blue dots, one of which are links to a news site discussing an energy drink called COCAINE. I haven't figured out how this relates to the movie though. the second dot takes you to a pharmacutical company working on cholera.

Another linked picture links to a Wikipedia page about bazooka guns. If I am not mistaken, one of the new pictures on the 1-18-08.com site is of a soldier. This indicates military activity in the movie.

The next picture is of a colossally monster-sized naked man towering over a tiny village. It links to a site about Emma Lazarus' famous "Give me your huddled masses yearning to be free" poem inside the Statue of Liberty. I needn't even mention the major significance of THAT to the movie.

the next picture is a link to a site called Seeing-Stars.com which appears to be a generic site for movie fans about movie studios. Oddly enough, it says derogatory things about Paramount Pictures - the movie company behind 1-8-08.
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That's it for those pictures
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Other notes of interest...

There is something being mentioned on the net about a thing called "BLOOP", which is being specifically linked to the monster. I have not understood the connection of it to the movie, BUT, a fish on the Slusho.jp site says "BLOOP".

I found an interesting CNN.com page about BLOOP - http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/06/13/bloop/ which is being reported as a REAL sonar recording of a sea monster. Check out http://www.BloopWatch.org/thebloop.html as well.
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Also check out this link: http://www.slusho.org which shows an old movie trailor for a Black & white film called "THE BEAST FROM 20000 FATHOMS" and bears a STRIKING SIMILARITY to the theme of the 1-18-08 movie trailor. This monster looks identical to the new Zilla in the recent matthew Broderick Godzilla movie.
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I also found another related site which gave me the chills. http://www.01-18-08.net/ It is a black screen with just the words, in white, saying:

"...there is a rest of us...
...underground...
...we will attack when the city is burned down..."

It links, for some reason, to a MySpace account advertising the burning of Paris.

The quote from the site, above, with it's ominous "underground", is the first I've seen that appears to link http://www.EverythingIsGoingToChange.com to the movie puzzle, showing a very freaky and sinister video of a man talking about people in an underground organization who are about to reveal themselves to the world.
The site is apparently a church ministry site, but strangely enough, when they posted this same video on YouTube, one of their tag words is "1-18-08"!!
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Here is another strange link http://www.afmfilms.org/catalog/FilmDetail.php?id=5047

It takes you to a site advertising a Japanese movie called TOKYO which is filming at the same time as 1-18-08. The movie poster shown here actually shows a Cthulhu-like sea creature attacking Tokyo from the sea; and one can only imagine that, if the city was New York instead, this picture is almost a "snapshot" of the scene just before what you see in the 1-18-08 movie poster, where the creature has burst into New York from the sea leaving a trail of destruction.
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I did a still-frame close-up of the smoke rising between the building in the movie trailor. Several people said they thought they saw a monster there. However, when I looked at it, I did see a creature in several frames - the same creature in each. It literally jumped out at me, it was that clear. I can only describe the creature as looking very much like a horrific WEREWOLF thing! It had a full head, facial features, wolf-like ears, and a torso... you could even see his nipples through the "hair"!
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Hope some of this is of use to someone.; October 14, 2007 at 12:48 PM
Anonymous said...: So, I called the number at the bottom of the Slusho distribution note. It rings through fairly quickly and you first get a message in Japanese that I could pick out enough words to know it was a JJ viral thing. The message then repeats in English that there is a high call volume and if you are calling about the recall for ParafFUN that you can leave a message...; October 28, 2007 at 8:53 AM

What is Cloverfield?

Welcome to 1-18-08 Project Cloverfield Blog.

Cloverfield is the J.J. Abrams (Lost, Alias) produced monster flick directed by Matt Reeves. Get caught up on all the Cloverfield news including the viral world of Tagruato, TIDOwave, and Slusho!? And now Aladygma?

However, I love viral campaigns. Cloverfield taught me the fun of being involved with the viral world of movies and TV. That's why I'd like to branch out this site to cover some of the major viral campaigns as they are developing. Feel free to drop me a line or tip on any you find interesting.

Welcome to Cloverfield

Very few facts emerged from the viral campaign that was Cloverfield. It all started after a short, teaser trailer for Cloverfield appeared with the Transformers movie in early July of 2007. Since then, speculation surrounded what the title of the movie would be (Monstrous, Overnight, etc...) and what the monster really is and why it is tearing up New York City.

A few pictures and covert videos from the film showed up online and there were only a few core facts we knew of including the poster, the teaser trailer, and a few websites at 1-18-08, Tagruato Corp, and Slusho .

In November, the official full-length Cloverfield trailer was released that helped open up the story as well as cement the "Cloverfield" name for the movie. A short glimpse of the Cloverfield Monster was seen but for most people they still had little or no clue as to what it was.

The movie centered around five young New Yorkers throwing their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives. Cloverfield opened the weekend of 1-18-08 and set box office records for a movie in January with a monster take of over $40M. Continue to check back here for updates on the mystery and viral campaigns of Cloverfield.

Get Started with the Cloverfield Viral Marketing

If you're new to the Cloverfield viral world than let's get started. First off, for the beginners let's look at what we're talking about.

What does viral marketing mean? Click here.

1-18-08.com Updates with pictures randomly. Each picture is layered onto of the previous update and all can be dragged and moved around the screen. Click and hold the mouse to 'grab' an image and move it around. While holding the image, shake it back and forth quickly and it will flip over. Some images have writing on the back.

Slusho This is the Japanese frozen drink made from a secret ingredient gathered from the bottom of the ocean. Slusho gives you a kick and makes you extremely happy. Prior to 1-18-08 Slusho was not sold in the US. However, recent FDA approval gave Slusho clearance to come to the states. Rob Hawkins, the lead character, was recently promoted to vice-president of Slusho and was on his way to Japan the night of the attack. Slusho is owned by the Tagruato Corp. of Japan. Slusho also first made an appearance on J.J. Abrams Alias during a scene where characters buy the drink at a store.

Tagruato This ficticious Japanese company is the parent company of Slusho as well as the Yoshida Medical Research, Bold Futura, and ParafFUN! Wax Distributors. Besides drilling the oceans for Slusho ingredients, Tagruato builds everything from space satellites to medical gear.

T.I.D.O wave An activist group set out to bring to light all the damage Tagruato has done to the envirnoment.

Jamie and Teddy A minor character from the movie, Jamie popped up on a 1-18-08.com picture and the MySpace profiles for the movies characters before getting famous for her "Jamie and Teddy" website. The site is comprised of video journals from Jamie. The site is password protected but can be accessed by the password "jllovesth"

1-18-08 Project Cloverfield - Warning! Spoilers