Gamers – proper computer game players – are obsessive.

The attention to detail required in finishing games nowadays demands it. They are often huge, sprawling and entirely non-linear affairs. They are all encompassing. They mean late nights, closed curtains and upset girlfriends. They are a full-time job.

This kind of obsessivness was historically the reserve of the music nut. The only difference being that the study of every lyric and every inch of an album sleeve has been replaced with the study of every combo and every inch of a world-map. Insane riffs traded for insane kill-rates.

What this meant for Microsoft and the launch of the xBox 360 was a captive audience. What that audience required was proof that Microsoft ‘got’ gaming. Where Sony had already proved this, Microsoft were still catching up. The Xbox almost did it. The 360 had to be game over.

To support the rest of the activity, Weapon7 created an extended ad – on pressing red after the TV ad, viewers were treated to exclusive eye-candy of the 360’s in-game graphic capabilities.

However, within this film was hidden an Easter Egg. We hid it there on purpose. We also told a few people on relevant gaming forums that it was there, just to get things started. All they had to do was type ‘egg’ into their Sky remote. When they did, there was more. A total of three increasingly cryptic challenges followed.

On exiting, viewers were ranked on how far they got - Novice, Skilled, Masterful or Legendary. The highest ranking got their names on the leader board so that their name would be on display every time a new challenger came into the site.

It was as simple as that – there was no particular prize for cracking it - just kudos. But that didn’t stop 1.9 million people from interacting.

(that’s gamers for you)