Two players win $25,000 in Los Angeles silver-case hunt

Jordan N. and Vincent P. claimed the top prize in a citywide Los Angeles contest built around the noir film The Man With the Silver Case. The campaign drew millions of views, thousands of submissions and large live crowds before ending with an in-person finale on Oct. 28.

Why it matters: - The contest turned a self-funded indie film into a citywide audience event, driving major traffic, social reach and real-world engagement in Los Angeles. - The campaign also gave the film a large promotional lift across streaming platforms and creator channels.

What happened: - Jordan N. and Vincent P. won the $25,000 prize in What's In The Silver Case?, a free Los Angeles contest tied to the black-and-white noir film The Man With the Silver Case. - The winners were crowned on Wednesday, Oct. 28, during the contest's in-person finale. - The hunt began with a clue hidden inside the film and expanded across the city for about a month. - A courier in a gray suit, handcuffed to a silver case and followed by men in black suits, handed out 4,000 calling cards around Los Angeles. - About 700 fans gathered at Santa Monica Pier around creator Braeden Days. - About 1,000 people showed up the next day at the TCL Chinese Theatre. - On finale day, players followed a payphone message from the film's lead, Stuart Reid, then tracked down the courier before the final clue led them to the case.

The details: - The campaign generated about 70 million views across campaign content. - The campaign added 14,000 new Instagram followers. - The campaign drove about 60,000 visits to lookagain.la. - The contest drew more than 5,600 registration submissions. - The film logged about 100,000 views on Prime Video and 40,000 on Tubi. - Creator collaborations included Braeden Days, Dr Pepper Man, Philip DeFranco, Alex Pearlman, Jinx Ultra Violet, Lucky Card Erik, JasonTheWeen, Stable Ronaldo, Arky and Ripyz. - Those collaborators have more than 35 million followers across platforms. - Additional posts came from Editing with Ego, McKenzi Brooke, Fikshun, Girl Who Eats Art, Tracy Rehart, Jnizmo, Black Snow, Hyxx Gaming, Matthew Torres, Luke Mizel, Austun Reid, RE, Los Angeles Fun Events, The Film Memes, Cinema Solace, LA Explained, Los Angeles Bucket List and Places Los Angeles. - The film was shot over 19 days on a single camera in the coldest Swiss winter in 20 years. - The Man With the Silver Case is streaming on Prime Video, Tubi and Apple TV. - Official rules are available at the contest rules page. - Photos and video from the campaign are available on request.

Between the lines: - The campaign blended puzzle marketing, creator distribution and live events to make the audience part of the story instead of a passive viewer. - The strong turnout and social numbers suggest the hunt worked as a discovery engine for a niche film that otherwise might have struggled to break through. - Critics also responded positively along the way. - INFLUX Magazine called the film