?Don’t miss our weekly Survivor newsletter! Sign up to get Mike Bloom’s exclusive interviews with the players and the latest news about the show right to your inbox.?
This week saw the launch of the "Survivor 50 Challenge," a nationwide hunt for 50 hidden immunity idols across 50 states. To participate, fans can visit the challenge's official website, where they'll receive a clue to the idol hidden in their state. The hunts have been apportioned, with a clue released for a different state every day from Jan. 26 to Feb. 21. The goal: Solve the clue to the idol's location before the provided end date and time. Once at the location, fans must either solve another clue or complete a challenge to find the idol proper. Then, all they need to do is scan the provided QR code, snap a photo and submit to be entered into the running for the grand prize.The "Survivor 50 Challenge" is the brainchild of CBS Chief Marketing Officer Mike Benson. And, as he tells Parade in an exclusive interview, this was a journey that began before true rumblings about Season 50 even began."We have been talking about Survivor 50 for almost two years now," he says. "And a lot of my inspiration comes straight from the show. Jeff Probst is one of the most passionate, inspiring showrunners I've ever had the pleasure to work with. But there's a lot of interesting data that we would see about this show, especially back in COVID, where people were looking for programs to watch, and they would go back and start watching many shows from the beginning. And Survivor was one of those shows." Benson was taken particularly by two macro concepts around Survivor. While Probst talks all the time both on and off-screen about the younger fans sitting down to watch every week, Benson got a firsthand experience with his daughter's fourth-grade class. Her teacher was a fan of Survivor and had created his own curriculum around the show, from giving students problems to solve together as a "tribe" to even running his own challenges. It was clear, much like a recurring theme through a few of the show's seasons, it had found a cross-generational appeal.Additionally, in the past couple of years, CBS has been running "Beach Drop" events around the country. These pop-ups allowed fans to try their hand at facsimiles of challenges used on the actual show, giving them a taste of Survivor without taking a flight to Fiji. And it was the idea of localizing the Survivor experience that gave Benson a brain blast. "I thought, okay, it's the 50th season. There's 50 states in America. Could we create something that will allow every single state in America to do something that is very Survivor-esque? And so we came up with this idea of a 50-state challenge, where we are going to hide an authentic idol from Survivor 50 in every single state and create something that is a combination of in real life, but also something you can play digitally as well."Simple in concept, complicated in execution, to say the least. The first step, of course, was getting Probst and company to sign off on the idea. Benson recalls that, as he and his team gave their presentation, going through each of the proposed 50 locations, the host and executive producer could not wipe the smile off his face."One of the great joys of watching Survivor is imagining yourself out there playing the game - making decisions, dealing with dilemmas and the pressure that comes with all of it," the Emmy winner tells Parade. "Our 50 States challenge lets fans live a piece of that dream by going on a real idol hunt of their own. This is your chance to see just how far your Survivor instincts can take you."
President and Chief Marketing Officer of CBS, Mike BensonCourtesy of CBS
Related: The 50 Best ‘Survivor’ Challenges Ever — According to the People Who Made Them (Exclusive)With the go-ahead from the show proper, it was time to dive headfirst into planning. Having to scout 50 potential locations across the country and create both real-life and digital components sounds like an absolute nightmare for one person to take on. Luckily, CBS had their own metaphoric tribe, courtesy of a partnership with Tool. The company, with which Benson previously worked during his tenure at Amazon, specializes in experiential work. And, along with the CBS marketing team, they hit the road for the perfect spots."We would go into each state and find locations that were visually interesting, but could be challenging," Benson explains. "They were either somewhat accessible, but maybe a challenge to find the idol. Or maybe something that wasn't very accessible. It's this mix of locations that not only represent the spirit of Survivor, but also we wanted to find locations in every single state that just kind of represented each state in a unique way."Benson provides two extreme examples of this dichotomy. One state's idol hunt involves fans truly "digging deep," taking a half-mile hike and using a snowmobile to get to their next destination. Another's involves putting an idol inside an incredibly-populated tourist destination, easily accessible, but something that requires a keener eye. Once the locations were determined, the team had to secure approval from whichever person, company or government entity owned the land. All in all, even with Tool's assistance, the process of locking down the locations took well over a year.Then there's the matter of timing. The idols are available for only a limited window of hours, depending on the state. This prevents what people may have imagined when they first heard about this nationwide idol hunt: A chaotic free-for-all, with 50 locations being leaked simultaneously across the internet. It's a carefully choreographed dance, moving through the routine of making sure the clues, challenges and hours are timed with the release of the next state's opening clue.While Probst was thrilled at the idea of the "Survivor 50 Challenge," he came in with one provision: Production would get to make the idols. Every one of the state idols was handcrafted by the Art Department on location in Fiji. The hardworking team is ordinarily responsible for creating everything from Tribal Council props to water bottles to, yes, idols. The design, done by Art Director Zac Jensen, takes a step away from the minimalistic idols in modern seasons. Instead, they're grandiose pendants, featuring the image of a phoenix (a nice representation of some returning players hoping to rise from the ashes in the upcoming Survivor 50).
The front of the idols hidden in the 'Survivor 50 Challenge'
View the 2 images of this gallery on the original articleThese idols have been created specifically for the "Survivor 50 Challenge," complete with verification via Probst's signature on the back. And the "Jeff Hancock" is not only for show. As Benson points out, this authentication also helps prevent clever fans from taking a page out of the Survivor handbook, making a fake idol to try to enter the contest through fraudulent means. (But good on anybody who tries to submit by taking a picture with a f—king stick!)Of course, like any good player, when the "Survivor 50 Challenge" was first announced, fans wanted to know what they were playing for. And, during the Golden Globe Awards, Probst revealed what the grand prize would be: A trip to Los Angeles to attend the Survivor 50 live finale. The stateside season conclusion hasn't happened since Island of the Idols in 2019, and was completely absent during the "new era" of the past five years. But now it's back — and a lucky group of fans will be in the room where it happens.Now, unlike the show proper, those who find their state's idol will not automatically win the prize. Instead, they'll be entered into a sweepstakes drawing with the other idol finders in their state, with one winner drawn from each lot. Additionally, those who cannot participate in person can take part in a "virtual challenge," where they will answer a three-question multiple-choice quiz. One person will be drawn out of all those who got a perfect score to make for 51 total winners."That was always part of the plan," Benson explains about the grand prize. "When we created the 50-state promotion, what we wanted to do was to get people to actually be at the live finale. If you are a fan of the show, we want you to be there with us for the live finale. We always wanted to give that away."The prize notwithstanding, though, Benson says that the "Survivor 50 Challenge" isn't just about giving superfans a way to live out a dream. It's also a way to possibly intrigue new fans in the show shortly before the Season 50 premiere."My job, at the end of the day, is to grow and develop audiences," he explains. "And so on one side, I want to serve the fandom, and I want to provide great experiences for them. On the other side, I want to actually have that fandom help become influencers. I want those fans to become advocates. It's like, 'If you're not watching Survivor, you should be!' And I really want to utilize that, that noise around the show to help people come in and make it accessible for them."As more states begin to open up their idol hunts, Benson describes his anticipation with glee. The "Survivor 50 Challenge" received more than double the signups so far than they had expected upon its announcement back in December. The Season 50 cast has even been taking to social media about the idol hunts, with a couple starting to post clues for their respective states. And who knows? If CBS is able to pull off the biggest experiential event in the show's history, maybe there will be more to come with the network's other hit shows! Makeshift NCIS crime labs? A ghost hunt in honor of Ghosts? Hidden Elsbeths?Regardless, the "Survivor 50 Challenge" gives old and new Survivor fans alike an opportunity to live an experience they've watched on TV for years. And, before they know it, they could be on the show, out in the Fijian jungle, finding the real deal.
Related: Meet the Full Cast of 'Survivor 50': Photos, Bios and What to Know
Hence then, the article about how survivor pulled off a 50 state immunity idol hunt for season 50 exclusive was published today ( ) and is available on Parade ( Saudi Arabia ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( How 'Survivor' Pulled Off a 50-State Immunity Idol Hunt for Season 50 (Exclusive) )
Also on site :