Decide, decode and win: Explore the life and times of Jay-Z with Bing

Ever listen to your favorite song and wonder what inspired the artist to write it?  Curious if there’s hidden meaning behind the lyrics?  Starting tomorrow, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in a multi-platform search experience to learn how one of today’s most iconic artists shares his life experiences through his lyrics. 

In anticipation of the release of his first book, DECODED, which will be on sale on November 16th, Jay-Z and Bing have teamed up to launch a multi-platform search experience and interactive game to help fans decode Jay-Z’s life and lyrics. The immersive online experience utilizes multiple facets of Bing, including Bing Maps and Bing Entertainment, to give fans full access to the stories behind Jay-Z’s songs. Over the course of a month, fans will come together as a community to compile DECODED online before it hits bookshelves.   

 

Every single page of the book will be discoverable prior to the book hitting stores, with pages physically placed in locations related to the written content. The journey will take you to over 15 locales; from the projects in the Brooklyn neighborhood where Jay-Z grew up and the London streets where he found inspiration, to the building of his empire in Manhattan and beyond.  DECODED‘s three hundred pages will be appearing in places and on objects that have never before been used as advertising – from pools and pool tables to bronze plaques and high-fashion clothing racks- an array of unexpected surfaces will become the backdrop for Jay-Z’s art. 

 

And Bing.com/Jay-Z is the only place you can crack the clues, locate the pages and see the key decisions in Jay-Z’s story unfold! 

People who are in those locations and those of you playing online with Bing will be offered never-before-experienced insights into Jay-Z’s life.  And it will be up to you to decide how to find these pages using Bing. At www.bing.com/Jay-Z: 

  • You can use Bing to search and decide how to decode Jay-Z’s life and dive into the stories behind his songs.
  • Bing Maps allows players to walk the streets that Jay-Z walked while you’re locating pages of the book. 
  • Bing Entertainment allows you to read song lyrics, hear Jay-Z’s songs, and purchase his music – directly from the experience.
  • Collaborate with other fans, to compile the pages of DECODED online before it hits bookshelves by posting pictures players have captured along the journey. 

How to play:

Starting tomorrow, five to ten new pages from DECODED will be unveiled each day, until the contest ends on November 20th.

  • Players answer clues to find the DECODED pages in the online game experience at Bing.com/Jay-Z, or in-person by locating the clues in NYC, London and beyond.
  • Any player who locates a page online or in-person (by texting unique game codes from the page) is entered into a drawing for a prize: the specific page they’ve located, signed by Jay-Z.
  • All participants will be entered for a grand prize: two tickets to Jay-Z and Coldplay in concert in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve.

 

Visit www.bing.com/Jay-Z to play! 

 

Eric Hadley- General Manager, Bing

 

Open to US residents 18+. Ends 11/20/10. See www.bing.com/jay-z for complete rules.