Thursday, August 13, 2009

7 Truths About Viral Culture

Recently, I have been fascinated by phenomenon of viral marketing. It seemed to me a couple of years ago when I was in college and viral marketing was beginning to take off, that it would quickly become a fleeting trend. However, over the past couple years, the exact opposite has happened. Take for instance the video I posted yesterday. This video was almost certainly a viral add released by none other than Performance Bicycle, a US discount bike chain. Yes, the references were quite subtle...but in a culture (cycling culture that is) where a subtle difference in your gear (read: non-white bar tape...or a helmet visor) can instantly peg you as an amateur weekend club rider, subtly is king.

Simon Dumenco of Advertising Age has put together a great article about the culture of viral advertising. His second point was what really hammered it home for me.


In the meantime, I will be sure to post (intentionally and unintentionally) many more viral ads.

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