The internet has yielded many innovations in marketing and a personal favorite of mine is viral marketing, which is the use of pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awarenessor to achieve other marketing objectives (such as product sales) through self-replicating viral processes, analogous to the spread of viruses or computer viruses (Source: Wikipedia).
Many companies have successfully completed viral campaigns. Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” holds the record for garnering the most views in 24 hours. The simplicity and wittiness of the commercial contributed to its success. Additionally, Old Spice had the actor in the commercial reply fan comments throughout three days, which generated even more hype and buzz. To this day, this campaign is arguably the most successful viral marketing campaign ever.
Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like
Guitar Hero also managed to generate much buzz when a seemingly home-made video was uploaded to YouTube under an ordinary name. Guitar Hero is normally played with a toy guitar, but this video showed a person playing the game by riding a bike. The video generated much buzz and curiosity, and ultimately Guitar Hero representatives stepped out and confirmed that this was indeed a viral marketing campaign they created.