• We have updated the guidelines regarding posting political content: please see the stickied thread on Website Issues.

Eroda: A Tourist Campaign For A Non-Existent Place

mariposacibernetico

Fresh Blood
Joined
Mar 23, 2018
Messages
14
Not sure what section this should go in, so I'm putting it here. A twitter user saw a paid advert from what appears to be a tourist board for a place called Eroda. The thread is here, if you want to go and read it.
Some things to note from the thread:
No ties to videogames or fantasy novels have been found, as the easiest explanation would have been a stealth marketing campaign for something like that.
The website has apparently existed since 2004.
The ads have appeared on twitter, facebook and instagram. The cost of this campaign, and the cost of the website itself, apparently registered with a particularly expensive company, ruling out something like a marketing student's project.

I'm sure the actual explanation is going to turn out to be something incredibly boring, but for now, it's a weird little curio.
 
Not sure what section this should go in, so I'm putting it here. A twitter user saw a paid advert from what appears to be a tourist board for a place called Eroda. The thread is here, if you want to go and read it.
Some things to note from the thread:
No ties to videogames or fantasy novels have been found, as the easiest explanation would have been a stealth marketing campaign for something like that.
The website has apparently existed since 2004.
The ads have appeared on twitter, facebook and instagram. The cost of this campaign, and the cost of the website itself, apparently registered with a particularly expensive company, ruling out something like a marketing student's project.

I'm sure the actual explanation is going to turn out to be something incredibly boring, but for now, it's a weird little curio.
The domain was only registered on the 28th of October 2019, I think we can discount the 2004 copyright notice on the website.
 
Not come across it.

Have you ever heard of Arous?

It was an abandoned Italian tourist resort in Sudan, run for four years by Mosad (posing as a Swiss tourism firm) purely as a for from the clandestine extraction of Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) stranded in Sudanese refugee camps, first by sea and later by air.

My favourite part being that unlike the Italians they actually managed to turn a modest profit.

You cannot fault Israeli intelligence for paucity of ambition.

Full Story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-43702764
 
Not come across it.

Have you ever heard of Arous?

It was an abandoned Italian tourist resort in Sudan, run for four years by Mosad (posing as a Swiss tourism firm) purely as a front for the clandestine extraction of Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) stranded in Sudanese refugee camps, first by sea and later by air.

My favourite part being that unlike the Italians they actually managed to turn a modest profit.

You cannot fault Israeli intelligence for paucity of ambition.

Full Story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-43702764

That's quite excellent really. If it's not already been the storyline for a movie, it ought to be.
 
Not sure what section this should go in, so I'm putting it here. A twitter user saw a paid advert from what appears to be a tourist board for a place called Eroda. The thread is here, if you want to go and read it.
Some things to note from the thread:
No ties to videogames or fantasy novels have been found, as the easiest explanation would have been a stealth marketing campaign for something like that.
The website has apparently existed since 2004.
The ads have appeared on twitter, facebook and instagram. The cost of this campaign, and the cost of the website itself, apparently registered with a particularly expensive company, ruling out something like a marketing student's project.

I'm sure the actual explanation is going to turn out to be something incredibly boring, but for now, it's a weird little curio.

In a similar vein...

There was a series of parody guide books written by some Aussie t.v personalities/actors/authors a few years back which were very well done.

There was:

Molvania: A land untouched by modern dentistry (Jetlag Travel Guide)
https://www.amazon.com/Molvania-Untouched-Modern-Dentistry-Jetlag/dp/1585676195

Phaic Tan: Sunburn on a Shoestring (Jetlag Travel Guide):
https://www.amazon.com/Phaic-Tan-Je...853659/ref=pd_sbs_14_t_1/137-5344698-3665007?

and

San Sombrero: A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups (Jetlag Travel Guide)
https://www.amazon.com/San-Sombrero...6194/ref=pd_sbs_14_img_0/137-5344698-3665007?

Could this be for something similar?
 
Last edited:
The domain was only registered on the 28th of October 2019, I think we can discount the 2004 copyright notice on the website.

The start of a marketing campaign for a film or *something* I would guess. Also to note that 'Eroda' backwards becomes 'Adore'

Not come across it.

Have you ever heard of Arous?

It was an abandoned Italian tourist resort in Sudan, run for four years by Mosad (posing as a Swiss tourism firm) purely as a for from the clandestine extraction of Ethiopian Jews (Beta Israel) stranded in Sudanese refugee camps, first by sea and later by air.

My favourite part being that unlike the Italians they actually managed to turn a modest profit.

You cannot fault Israeli intelligence for paucity of ambition.

Full Story:
https://www.bbc.com/news/stories-43702764

The history of the aliyah of Ethiopian Jews and Beta Israel people from eastern Africa is astounding, and a reminder of the general fact that noble, humanitarian urges still exist notwithstanding all the global sh***y behaviour.
 
The Arous-thing appears to be the basis for the recent filmThe Red Sea Diving Resort.
 
The start of a marketing campaign for a film or *something* I would guess. Also to note that 'Eroda' backwards becomes 'Adore'.
Yes I spotted that and tried reading all of the location names backwards to see if they used the same idea to give a clue. They don’t.
 
Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius - when are Erodian artefacts going to manifest in this universe? The website may only be the beginning.
 
The website may only be the beginning.

Was just thinking that... maybe this is from the Mandela Effect universe. Don't think physical artefacts can/will appear until they build and power up the Future Circular Collider.

What if all these supposedly fictional lands (Taured, Atlantis, etc.) exist on the other side and people/stories just leak through now and then, Brigadoon-style? (musical numbers optional)
 
I see Elsbels and Ingoldmells springs to mind :p

Edit: Wow i must see that film, Argo.
 
Last edited:
New theory :

So what does it all mean? Why would some unnamed source pay to market a fake location?

Well, Harry Styles fans have an answer. They were among the people who got the targeted ads — likely on purpose — and quickly matched up the locations pictured and references in the ads and on the website to the singer, his recent activities, and his upcoming album, "Fine Line."


https://www.insider.com/eroda-travel-ads-island-harry-styles-album-2019-11
 
Harry Styles was a guest on Graham Norton and Edora got a brief mention.
 
Back
Top