I, for one, love this advent of viral marketing. It does things to generate unprecedented amounts of interest in the things that are being advertised. For example, the “Why So Serious” campaign for the new Batman film has repeatedly reached a fevered pitch. It’s nice to see these advertising folks trying to find new and inventive ways to push their products.

ABC has begun promoting the return of Lost, this time focusing on the fictional Oceanic Airlines. In the Lost canon, Oceanic had to shut down after the crash of Flight 815, but now, over three years later, they have returned to business. As you can see in the above image (thanks to On The Vig), billboards have begun popping up in markets all over the country. The captions say “A new life awaits you in Seoul. Oceanic Airlines. Your ultimate destination.”, though the city name will likely vary between other billboards. I like the “ultimate destination” part…it seems…foreboding.

Heading over to flyoceanicair.com, we find an intro video heralding the return of the airline. However, the video has apparently been hacked by a guy named Sam who is looking for his partner, Sonya, who was a flight attendant on Oceanic 815. There is also a reference to find815.com, which chronicles Sam’s progress in tracking down the crashed flight.

If you’re into Lost, it may be well worth your time to poke around. I haven’t quite had the opportunity yet, but, if last year’s campaign was any indication, chances are it will turn into a fun little scavenger hunt.