As Conan O'Brien prepares to make his big return to late night television on November 8, the comedian is also returning to his social media roots for a Foursquare promotion of giant proportions — blimp-sized, in fact.

Team Coco, in partnership with AT&T, has launched the The Conan Blimp into the skies above Philadelphia. The orange eye sore will travel all over the East Coast for the entire month of October; Conan fans who spot it can check in to the blimp to unlock a special Conan badge on Foursquare.

The Conan Blimp also has its own website complete with a live cam and an always-updating map. True Conan fans that don't want to miss their chance at the badge can also follow Team Coco on Foursquare and Twitter for updates on the blimp's whereabouts.

The campaign is as transparent as they come — those blimp checkins will get distributed to all corners of the social web and spread the message that Conan is back. Still, it's a massive undertaking that is both strange and fascinating. The month-long East Coast blimp trip is sure to be one giant spectacle, and it seems safe to assume that it will attract a fair amount of stares — and possibly even Foursquare checkins.

The blimp-badge partnership is also an interesting indicator of how location, checkins and entertainment marketing can go hand-in-hand. Foursquare tells us that the startup's participation in the campaign was orchestrated by Jonathan Crowley, sibling to Co-founder Dennis Crowley and the man at the company handling media partnerships of late.

What's your take on The Conan Blimp and Foursquare badge? Marketing win or shameless ploy? Share your thoughts in the comments.







Image courtesy of Team Coco, Flickr