Seems like the prevalence of viral marketing and social networking has not come without its share of caveats. Less regulation and more freedom can be a good thing…or in some cases can fall flatter than soda left out in the sun.
The newest member of the ’sexist’ club is none other than Method. You know those devilish little scrubbing bubbles, crudely leering at the helpless naked woman in the shower? Uh yeah, apparently some view it as sexist and even condoning rape.
Method has since pulled the video. But looks like those scuzzy little suds could take a lesson from Spiderman—”With great power comes great responsibility.” Even on the Internet.
Are you a beautiful and unique snowflake or just another cog in the machine?
Experience the mayhem firsthand, using Facebook Connect and this amazing site experience that asks: if you wake up at a different time and in a different place, could you wake up as a different person? In celebration of the 10th anniversary Blu-Ray edition of Fight Club, you get to channel your inner anarchist and immerse yourself in the Fight Club experience.
Unless you’ve been living in a cave this week, you’ve most certainly heard of the Jim/Pam wedding on “The Office.” According to Philadelphia Daily News critic Ellen Gray, “Thought the hype had killed ‘The Office’ wedding for me. But I’m all choked up.”
So, how did they do it? Yes, everyone was über-excited to see Jim and Pam walk down the aisle, but many worried that the overexposure and massive media coverage would kill the special event. But with the help of social media, the Thursday night favorite managed to tug at the heartstrings of fans and critics alike.
Starting with Dwight’s Three Wolf Moon T-shirt and culminating in the charming-yet-ridiculous wedding dance set to Chris Brown’s Forever, “The Office” was like an hour long love letter to social media.
Read more about the spooftastic sitcom success here and here.
VCCP has launched a viral campaign starring this Russian-inflected meerkat. Everyone’s favorite mongoose has gotten quite a large share of the spotlight lately, starting with the Discovery channel’s popular show, Meerkat Manor.
But can the popularity of meerkats be leveraged into success for a website about market comparison?
It would appear so, initially, judging by his 570,000+ Facebook fans. And you know you’re famous when you have your own blooper reel.
Read more about this charming meerkat here, here, and here.
Melissa Brandts and her husband were in Banff National Park recently and set their camera to autotimer to snap a quick shot, when this little bugger showed up.
Since being posted on National Geographic’s site, the squirrel crasher has gone viral. The whole thing is nuts! The Canuck crasher is appearing all over the web. Check out Mashable’s top 10. And, because it’s Friday, we welcome him to the Asylum too.
NBC has made quite a fuss in the blogosphere for tapping none other than Facebook for a first look at its much hyped new show, Community. Using an application created by (you guessed it!) us, users who become fans of the show can watch the pilot in its entirety before the September 17 premiere.
Talk about corporate buzzkill. YouTube may be the promised land of affordable, grassroots advertising reach and brand awareness for companies big and small. But YouTube giveth… and YouTube also taketh away. When alt-country crooner Dave Carroll hit a brick wall complaining to United about his damaged guitar (victim of the airline’s baggage-handling), he didn’t get mad. He went viral. His song, “United Breaks Guitars” has received over 4 million views on YouTube and massive online attention. Check out the video below and read more about Dave’s story here.
In a full re-branding push, 800 number provider by the name of grasshopper shipped out 5,000 bags of real, chocolate covered grasshoppers (that’s real grasshoppers, we don’t know about the quality of the chocolate) to bloggers, news anchors and tastemakers all over the world.
Folks who received the package of bugs were also given a link to an inspirational video about entrepreneurs seen here:
See? if you eat a grasshopper, you’re a risk taker, an entrepreneur and an ideal customer. But did they get new customers? enough to justify FedEx shipping costs to thousands of people?
The amazing technology that already lives on most desktops puts the power directly into the hands of the fans. Using desktop editing and effects software, fans of Green Lantern and the Thunder Cats cobble together existing footage from other films to realize their dream of a feature film…. well, a trailer at least!
