VIRAL ADS, YAY OR NAY

Viral advertising, particularly on the internet, may soon come to an end according to an article published today at Advertising Age.com. Nowadays, viral ads tend to go unmarked and come in the form of a funny email or video that gets passed along without most people realizing it’s an advertisement. Anti-viral groups are already investigating the ways in which those marketers violate consumer privacy, and the Federal Trade Commission will host hearings Nov. 6, titled "Protecting Consumers in the Next Tech-ade," which will bring together business, government and technology sectors to explore the impact of viral ads. Watchdog groups such as the Center for Digital Democracy and Commercial Alert feel that viral ads should be labeled as commercials so that consumers know they are being marketed to.

YouTube as been a huge source of viral advertising, (just look at the latest on the “Lonely Girl” phenomenon) but is already making a move towards paid advertising. Collegehumor and Heavy.com also feature videos that are not identified as commercials, making it difficult to uncover who’s responsible.

So what do you think: clever advertising or deceptively ingenuous? WSD feels that while viral advertising can be a fun and intelligent way to market to consumers, there should be some sort of sign that it’s a commercial, like with Smirnoff’s Tea Partay. Otherwise, consumers might just get mad and lose interest once they discover they’ve been misled.