Before Shadow of the Colossus was released in North America and Japan in late October 2005, Sony launched an unexpected and thorough viral marketing campaign to promote the game.

In January 2005, a TypePad blog called Giantology was created to serve as the hub for the campaign. The blog's author was Eric Belson, a 28-year-old electronics store worker (and avid gamer) who lived in Evanston, Illinois with his girlfriend Lauren. He declared himself "the world's first Giantologist", coining the term "Giantology" after finding in a Google search that no one was using the term. He revealed the blog would be used as a place to post his research he was collecting for a book, whose working (and apparently final) title was The Age of Giants.

The campaign was a huge success. Its fictional characters were offered book deals, research assistance and interview requests; its hoaxes were talked about by not only thousands of forums but also prominent radio and talk shows. In total, the campaign was viewed by approximately 25 million people from over 110 countries.

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The campaign (October - December 2005)

In October 2005, Belson began to post media and information concerning five very unusual finds throughout the world - all of them were actually a clever look at five of the game's sixteen colossi.

The excavation at Jebal-Barez Main article: Jebal-Barez skeleton First posted on Giantology: October 5, 2005 The first section of the viral campaign started when Giantology posted a link to a site belonging to Dutch archaeologist Casper Shilling, who claimed to have found the skeleton of an unprecedentedly large beast while on an expedition in the Iranian mountains of Jebal Barez. Schilling took several photographs and sketches of the remains. The skeleton was, in reality, a construction modeled after the thirteenth colossus, Phalanx. Archaeologist Casper Shilling sits under one of the skeleton's ribs. Shilling's sketch of the giant's head. Add a photo to this gallery





The giant of the Tamil Nadu tsunami Main article: Tamil Nadu tsunami giant First posted on Giantology: October 6, 2005 One day later, Giantology came up with another story, this time with a video of a local-news report in India about an enormous skeleton carried to the shoreline of Tamil Nadu by a recent tsunami. The video included a helicopter flyby of the remains, which were modeled after the first colossus, Valus. Valus, washed up along the shores of Tamil Nadu. Rupa Sridharam covering the story on the local news Add a photo to this gallery





The eel of the Sulu Sea Main article: Sulu Sea eel statue First posted on Giantology: October 10, 2005 190 feet below the surface of the sea near Australia, a team of scuba divers led by Ed Guyler claimed to have found an enormous statue. Tests apparently revealed that the material the statue was composed of was bone, and that it had been, at one point, alive. The website stated that they believed the giant was a subspecies of eel, but the discovery in the hoax was actually the seventh colossus, Hydrus.

Hydrus is "discovered" by Ed Guyler. A photo montage of the remains from head to tail. Add a photo to this gallery





The discovery and coverup of the Franz Josef Land giant Main article: Polarneft conspiracy First posted on Giantology: October 21, 2005 A geologist by the name of Arkady Simkin supposedly traveled to Siberia on an expedition for oil, but what he was said to have found instead was a colossus. A half-frozen ice giant he referred to as Taurus major, the beast in this particular hoax is the second colossus, Quadratus. When the site was online, it had a video of the colossus' discovery, as well as what looked to be a 3-D scan of the corpse, and a picture of a cave painting depicting men hunting the colossus. The video of the scan and the cave painting could be accessed by inputting the correct password (which was 'polaricegiant'). Arkady Simkin's team finds something unexpected in the far north. Simkin rebelled against Polarneft's efforts to cover up the conspiracy by posting everything he still had in a secret online directory. Add a photo to this gallery





The discovery of a strange statue in Peru Main article: Sayre family vacation First posted on Giantology: November 18, 2005 When Andrew and Ellie Sayre took a family vacation to Peru, they made an unexpected discovery of a statue that "wasn't in any of the guide books". The statue is actually a big model of the third colossus, Gaius. The family also took a photo of some old cave glyphs that they thought had something to do with the statue. The video of their discovery was actually the first media filmed for the campaign, and was used by the viral marketers as a "demo video" to Sony. The Sayre family happens upon a huge statue of Gaius... ...as well as a few "ancient" cave paintings. Add a photo to this gallery

Cave glyphs in Zambia

First posted on Giantology: December 26, 2005

The final post on the blog ended with news of yet another discovery near Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. An anonymous reader sent the blog a photo of a newspaper clipping (seen at right) about the discovery of a cave painting of four of the colossi (Quadratus, Barba, Gaius, and Phalanx), arranged around a center glyph. Although much of the article's text is cropped, it is still possible to make out a few details:

Initial estimates date the paintings at anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 years old. Notably, however, the Stone Age (a period of time approximately two and a half million years ago) is also mentioned in the article.

The article's title emphasizes the paintings were found in a "remote" location.

The paintings were analysed in the article by someone whose last name was "Miyasato".





Before the campaign (January - October 2005)

For nearly ten months, Belson's blog was an unassuming, ordinary look at giant creatures in history and mythology (as well a few tidbits on Lauren). What follows is a list summarizing his posts, many of them related to real-world discoveries and events. With a few exceptions (such as archived versions of webpages), every external link in this section aside from links to Wikipedia is the same page that Belson linked to.

January

January 12 - Belson introduces himself and the blog, promising much more information will be posted soon.

- Belson introduces himself and the blog, promising much more information will be posted soon. January 13 - Belson gives much more information about himself, including the city he lives in, his father, his job as an electronics store worker, his girlfriend, and his major interests.

- Belson gives much more information about himself, including the city he lives in, his father, his job as an electronics store worker, his girlfriend, and his major interests. January 14 - Belson reveals the blog will not be a personal blog, but will instead be used as "research" for a book he's writing ( The Age of Giants is the tentative title). He hopes the book will offer a unique perspective on giants and the legends about them, citing Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers's The Power of Myth as an inspiration. Later that day, he comes up with the term "Giantology" to describe his work, linking to a Google search of the word as proof that "no one else is really using it".

- Belson reveals the blog will not be a personal blog, but will instead be used as "research" for a book he's writing ( is the tentative title). He hopes the book will offer a unique perspective on giants and the legends about them, citing Joseph Campbell and Bill Moyers's as an inspiration. Later that day, he comes up with the term "Giantology" to describe his work, linking to a Google search of the word as proof that "no one else is really using it". January 15 - After consulting various sources for a basic definition of the word "giant", Belson settles on "any unknown or mythological creature of colossal size".

- After consulting various sources for a basic definition of the word "giant", Belson settles on "any unknown or mythological creature of colossal size". January 17 - A look at giants as they were described in the King James Bible (Genesis 6:1 - 6:4).

- A look at giants as they were described in the King James Bible (Genesis 6:1 - 6:4). January 18 - Goliath as he appeared in not only the Bible but in early 20th centery Jewish literature.

- Goliath as he appeared in not only the Bible but in early 20th centery Jewish literature. January 22 - Belson links to an article about giants. He clarifies his earlier definition: "For my purposes, a giant doesn't have to look like anything else on Earth or any other giants, and it doesn't require any kind of intelligence or reason - it simply must be giant, part of folklore/religion/mythology, and otherwise unidentified to science."

- Belson links to an article about giants. He clarifies his earlier definition: "For my purposes, a giant doesn't have to look like anything else on Earth or any other giants, and it doesn't require any kind of intelligence or reason - it simply must be giant, part of folklore/religion/mythology, and otherwise unidentified to science." January 25 - Taking a break from giants to talk briefly about his personal life, Belson talks about his visit to Chicago's Adobo Grill, a Brazilian restaurant. Lauren, though a vegetarian, ate some of the meat there anyway; Belson, an "unapologetic carnivore", ate a large amount of red meat, joking about how he may need a colonoscopy afterwards.

- Taking a break from giants to talk briefly about his personal life, Belson talks about his visit to Chicago's Adobo Grill, a Brazilian restaurant. Lauren, though a vegetarian, ate some of the meat there anyway; Belson, an "unapologetic carnivore", ate a large amount of red meat, joking about how he may need a colonoscopy afterwards. January 29 - A very brief post linking to the IMDB page for the 1998 film My Giant. "The less said, the better."

February

March

April

May

June

June 1 - Belson posts a link to WaitingForBigfoot.com, a site hoping to catch Bigfoot on webcam. (The website is no longer up.)

- Belson posts a link to WaitingForBigfoot.com, a site hoping to catch Bigfoot on webcam. (The website is no longer up.) June 2 - Belson talks about cryptozoology, the study of animals whose existences are unproved. These animals are referred to as "cryptids".

- Belson talks about cryptozoology, the study of animals whose existences are unproved. These animals are referred to as "cryptids". June 12 - Belson discusses Cope's Law, which states that species tend to increase in size as they evolve.

- Belson discusses Cope's Law, which states that species tend to increase in size as they evolve. June 13 - Today is Belson's brithday; he's 28 today. He mentions his mother once made him a cake shaped like Indiana Jones's fedora. He and Lauren plan to go to the Museum of Science and Industry. Belson recalls the first time he saw an Omnimax (an IMAX movie projected onto a dome) movie there, and looks forward to reliving his childhood memories.

July

July 2 - Belson posts about the Gorgon - not the monster from Greek mythology but an actual creature that was thought to have lived before the dinosaurs.

- Belson posts about the Gorgon - not the monster from Greek mythology but an actual creature that was thought to have lived before the dinosaurs. July 6 - After re-reading Doris Lessing's Shiksata (he originally had to read it for a class called Post-Colonial British Literature, which he describes in this post as "a real laugh riot"). One of the main ideas of the book was that Earth was first colonzied by an alien race of giants.

- After re-reading Doris Lessing's (he originally had to read it for a class called Post-Colonial British Literature, which he describes in this post as "a real laugh riot"). One of the main ideas of the book was that Earth was first colonzied by an alien race of giants. July 14 - Belson posts another page from the Omniology site. (He first linked to their site in his post on February 3, but apparently doesn't remember.)

- Belson posts another page from the Omniology site. (He first linked to their site in his post on February 3, but apparently doesn't remember.) July 15 - Today is Belson's third anniversary with Lauren (he bought her a pair of earrings and a matching necklace), and is taking the day off. He mentions he doesn't like shopping for clothes as gifts, preferring to keep things simple with jewelry, books and music.

- Today is Belson's third anniversary with Lauren (he bought her a pair of earrings and a matching necklace), and is taking the day off. He mentions he doesn't like shopping for clothes as gifts, preferring to keep things simple with jewelry, books and music. July 19 - Belson describes the basilosaurus, which he jokingly calls the "first big whale".

- Belson describes the basilosaurus, which he jokingly calls the "first big whale". July 20 - Belson saw War of the Worlds over the weekend; he talks about the Tripods in this post.

- Belson saw over the weekend; he talks about the Tripods in this post. July 21 - After researching Humbaba, the giant slain in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Belson wonders if the giant was killed simply for the challenge of killing him. Tellingly, Belson muses whether there exists an innately human desire to take down giants and website value .

- After researching Humbaba, the giant slain in the Epic of Gilgamesh, Belson wonders if the giant was killed simply for the challenge of killing him. Tellingly, Belson muses whether there exists an innately human desire to take down giants and website value . July 26 - In an attempt to answer the question rasied by his previous post, Belson reads [1] , a retelling of [2] from Grendel's perspective. Instead of the hero being exalted for slaying a giant creature, this novel offers a perspective that Belson hopes will shed light on what it means for a human to slay a giant. "There is a real hatred buried at the heart of these stories that is difficult to reconcile if you think of the giants not as symbols, but as living, breathing, beings."

- In an attempt to answer the question rasied by his previous post, Belson reads , a retelling of from Grendel's perspective. Instead of the hero being exalted for slaying a giant creature, this novel offers a perspective that Belson hopes will shed light on what it means for a human to slay a giant. "There is a real hatred buried at the heart of these stories that is difficult to reconcile if you think of the giants not as symbols, but as living, breathing, beings." July 31 - Belson looks at various theories and myths about whether the Nazca Lines were made by giants.

August

September

October

October 1 - Belson announces that he has bought his first domain name, Giantology.net. At the time of the post, following that URL would simply redirect back to the TypePad blog, but Belson promises bigger and better things are on the way. (He wasn't kidding; the very next post after that on October 5 was about Casper Shilling's discovery of Phalanx's skeleton.)

After the campaign

The Giantology blog, and everything it linked to, were all taken down, most of it around April–May 2006 (Casper Shilling's website, curiously, remained up and running well through late 2007), but nearly all of the content has been archived or saved in some form or another. A reconstructed version of the blog can be found here.



