#FINDJARULE: Karmaloop.com's Brainchild turns into Viral Sensation Overnight

BOSTON, Dec. 20, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- At the heels of its wildly successful live streaming event, Freakathon: The Cyber Vision Encore, which featured an exclusive performance by legendary rap group Bone Thugs N Harmony, Karmaloop.com's interactive gift code giveaway, #FINDJARULE, went viral to become the number one trending topic in the United States on Twitter. 

The trending topic, aptly named #FINDJARULE, reached trending status shortly after 4:00AM EST, which is when Karmaloop's Cyber Vision Encore drew to a close.  #FINDJARULE remained the number one trending topic in the United States for over 12 hours and resulted in a reach of over 3.3 million impressions and 9.2 thousand tweets over the course of 24 hours.   The magnitude of this viral campaign is a first for Karmaloop.

#FINDJARULE is a guessing game played at Karmaloop's Freakathon events where fans can call in or tweet their guess as to what number a photo of Ja Rule is hiding behind.  Karmaloop also has featured #FINDJARULE as a scavenger hunt on their site; users must find the photo of Ja Rule hidden on the product page of a Karmaloop item, and the first to tweet the link to the correct item, wins.  #FINDJARULE's stint as a top trend on Twitter resulted in tweets and support from brands and celebrities like Bravo TV, Virgin Mobile, HLNTV, Olay, Elite Daily, BossipEve, and even Ja Rule himself.    

#FINDJARULE, which was conceptualized by KarmaloopTV Creative Director, @LILINTERNET, and host, Gitoo, was intended to only be played at Karmaloop's Freakathon NYC.  The event was held at an undisclosed warehouse location in Brooklyn's DUMBO neighborhood and featured performances and appearances from RiFF RaFF, Flatbush Zombies, World's Fair, ASAP Mob, and more.  The sheer secrecy of the event lead to gossip and speculation of the event's whereabouts in Page Six.  Find Ja Rule debuted at Freakathon NYC and received an overwhelmingly-positive response from viewers, resulting in the game being revisited for Karmaloop's Cyber Vision Monday Livestream, which featured performances by Action Bronson, Kitty Pryde, Chanel West Coast, and Rockie Fresh, as well as Tuesday's Cyber Vision Encore, which launched #FINDJARULE into viral territory. 

"I've always been a big JaRule fan, I make it a point to play at least 3 duets in a row in every DJ set," said @LILINTERNET, who has directed videos such as Diplo's "Express Yourself" and Beyonce's "No Angel".  He added, "I know he's been locked up and I truly want him to come back.  This game was an expression of that sentiment, and while it's a humorous game, we're dead serious; we want Ja Rule to return triumphantly."

"When @LILINTERNET and I were brainstorming games to play at Karmaloop's Freakathon Live Stream, we knew this was the perfect opportunity to find Ja Rule," quips KarmaloopTV host, Gitoo, " We had to take to twitter and get the real low down of where the Murda Inc. Mother Father was hiding!  Wherever he is, I hope he finally got the other side of his hair braided." 

Karmaloop responded to the news of #FINDJARULE trending on Twitter by hosting an impromptu hour-long Live Stream featuring @LILINTERNET and resident Kam Girls, Gia Von Tate and Julie Marcus, to interact with fans new and old and play #FINDJARULE. 

To learn more about Karmaloop or to find out more about how you can help find Ja Rule, please visit Karmaloop.com. 

SOURCE Karmaloop