'Dante's Inferno': 9 months of marketing hell

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Take, for example, the guerrilla marketing for Electronic Arts's blockbuster new video game, Dante's Inferno. Last year, the company—and ad agency Wieden + Kennedy—set about trying to educate the public not only about the game but about a 14th-century literary classic and the very nature of human morality. What ensued was one of the most complex campaigns in video-game history, one that got EA burned for fakery and sexism, and then—thanks to a bold change of direction—lauded for intellect and creativity.