Recently a reader wrote into the Chicagoist asking about an ominous billboard she came across during a commute: “The billboard just east of the Clybourn metra stop,” writes Nancy, “says, ‘6+6+06 the signs are all around you” on a black billboard in white font. No links to any websites or companies or anything… can you guys get to the bottom of this?”

As it turns out, the crack team at the Chicagoist was able to get the the bottom of the mystery.

It’s not just your typical pre/post-millennialist propoganda, but movie marketing magic. You see June 6, 2006, is the release date for the remake of the classic horror film “The Omen,” starring Gregory Peck. The anti-Christ, Damien, is switched with the murdered son of American diplomats and wreaks havoc on those around him.

But, is this marketing campaign as misguided as the recent “Mission Impossible: III” campaign wherein faux bombs were placed in newspaper dispensers? As the Chicagoist points out “We’re not completely sure if marketing campaigns without the actual name of the product are ever too effective, but we suppose it got us writing about it, so maybe they rely on people who are intrigued enough to want to solve the mystery.”