For a Masterclass in Viral Marketing, Drop What You’re Doing and Go to the ‘Mr. Robot’ Website

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Season 2 of last summer’s hacker hit Mr. Robot — starring the swoon-worthy Rami Malek as Elliot Alderson, a cyber-security engineer-slash-hacker with a penchant for black hoodies — premieres July 13. The show hasn’t released a full trailer yet, but in a genius marketing move, it’s released a series of interactive promos on its site.

If you go to whoismrrobot.com, you’ll be greeted with a black screen before text begins to appear, like when the IT guy “takes over” your computer, or when Patrick Swayze fucks with Tony Goldwyn at the end of Ghost. After a few lines of intro (“Hello, friend. Here we are again”), which are time-stamped to whenever you’re reading it, you’re given the option to type in one of four commands; each one leads to a different outcome. I won’t spoil it in case you haven’t already Googled this, but suffice it to say one option leads to a very familiar face.

The first season ended with a global financial meltdown; I’ll leave you with a short promo for the second season. And remember: A bug is never just a mistake.