‘Pubulis Enigma’: Pink Floyd’s greatest marketing ploy
Genuine puzzle or publicity stunt? Decades on, Pink Floyd fans still aren’t sure, and the ‘Publius Enigma’ has continually enthralled fans since it burst onto the internet and snowballed into its own phenomenon.
Rumbles of secret conspiracy lacing the artwork and songs of Pink Floyd starting in 1994 when cryptic messages were posted on the unmoderated website, alt.music.pink-floyd. A user going only by “Publius” started posting vague messages, hinting that 1994’s The Division Bell contained a hidden message. This enigmatic poster also promised a reward for any fan who could crack it.
“My friends. You have heard the message Pink Floyd has delivered, but have you listened? Perhaps I can be your guide, but I will not solve the enigma for you,” opened the first mysterious message. “All of you must open your minds and communicate with each other, as this is the only way the answers can be revealed. I may help you, but only if obstacles arise.”
The anonymous user urged fans to listen, read, think and communicate. Naturally, the communication element was like fuel to the fire as fans began trading theories. Pink Floyd was no stranger to hidden messages, and on 1979’s The Wall, ‘Empty Spaces’ features a hidden passage from Roger Waters.
“Congratulations. You’ve just discovered the secret message,” it said. “Please send your answer to Old Pink, care of the funny farm, Chalfont,” he says when reversed.
However alluring another hidden message might have been, the alarm bells started ringing for some with Publius’ follow-up message, which read: “As some of you have suspected, The Division Bell is not like its predecessors,” adding: “Lyrics, artwork and music will take you there.” The need to buy vinyl to scour its artwork was the first sign it was a ploy to drive album sales.
Guitarist David Gilmour was frank about the enigma during a 2002 webchat, dismissing it as “some silly record company thing that they thought up to puzzle people with,” crushing the frenzied fan theories.
Drummer Nick Mason also bought even the most conspiratorially minded fans back down to earth in 2005 during a book signing for Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd. “That was a ploy done by EMI,” he said resolutely. “They had a man working for them who adored puzzles. He used to work for the Reagan administration.”
Mason explained this man was working for EMI and suggested a puzzle be made that could be fervently followed online. “To this day, it remains unsolved,” he said.
“The prize was something like a crop of trees planted in a clear-cut area of forest or something to that effect. It was not to be a prize of some tangible thing – but rather a touchy-feely sort of gift that was more of a philanthropic thing than something you could hang on the wall.”
