YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED SHUTDOWN

Company
Esmail Corp (film director Sam Esmail)
Project
Videos for website ARG and social media
Audience
Fans and users of Mr. Robot and other Esmail Corp television properties (esmailcorp.com)
Contribution
Copywriting, video and social strategy
For the launch of the final Mr. Robot season, I worked with Devona's creative director to create a one-of-a-kind experience for director Sam Esmail's site — a hub for easter eggs and alternate reality games (ARGs) that his fans eat up.

To mess with an entire fandom, we bizarrely took the whole site "off air" at a set time every night, and put it back "on air" each morning. Closing and opening videos echo traditional sign-off and sign-on messages used by TV networks in the '80s, but with internet lingo (that doesn't quite apply for a website that's not ever supposed to properly "shut down") in place of TV production vernacular. Scripts are written to evoke a sense of sinister manipulation and tie into brand tenets of anachronism, misdirection, control, and deception.

I also provided social media support for the final season launch, writing posts and managing the content calendar.



Sign-off card

Plays as website goes “off air” at 3 AM ET

Sign-off transcript

Serving internet protocol addresses around the world, www.EsmailCorp.com offers the finest in world wide web entertainment, information, influence, reliability, and vigilance.

This commercial domain is affiliated with the Esmail Corporation, located in Culver City, California, and is identified by the uniform resource locator, “EsmailCorp.com.” EsmailCorp broadcasts on a frequency of 174 to 180 megahertz at the maximum permitted radiated power, and is proud to observe the standards of secure hypertext transfer protocol.

As we conclude our regular schedule for today, we invite you to join us at six o’clock sharp tomorrow morning, when our devoted staff will begin another day of making EsmailCorp history.

Until then, all of us at EsmailCorp thank you for welcoming us into your homes, offices, handbags, coat pockets, kitchens, living rooms, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

Sign-on card

Plays as website comes “on air” at 6 AM ET

Sign-on transcript

Good morning, world wide web. Welcome to a new day of www.EsmailCorp.com scheduling, brought to you by the authority of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers and your individual government’s internet regulating body. 

EsmailCorp.com is proudly owned and operated by Esmail Corporation and distributed by secure servers that bring our fine content straight to you and your device—all made possible with the help of your friendly internet service provider.

The information on EsmailCorp.com may not be recorded, distributed, or otherwise used without express written permission by Esmail Corporation. We hope you enjoy the security and accessibility that makes EsmailCorp.com an easy, user-friendly part of your daily routine.



Social media support for Mr. Robot

Retweet of original (copy my contribution) >



Original tweet