The Ascent of Dan.

The article considers the success of Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code" as a case study in marketing. All things connected with "The Da Vinci Code," from the film to tours of the sites mentioned in the book to the author's critically panned earlier works are remarkably successful. Four factors have helped "The Da Vinci Code" become a phenomenon: entertainment value, in the book and the media and church reaction to it, Brown's previous failures, the supposed exclusivity and outsider status of a book read by millions, and the controversy surrounding the book.