Welcome, to the new age (Web 3.0– is that what we are calling this?). Gone are the days when you could have a smoke break in the ‘Sex and The City’ TV advert to avoid one of the few ads you would see in a day. Ads are everywhere today, they are on banners, pop-up ads, social media, and lately even on my favorite cat video on YouTube.
Glorious YouTube with its one billion visitors each month has also become the host of many viral marketing campaigns. What is viral marketing you ask? (You must be living under a rock). Viral Marketing is a buzz work created to describe the marketing technique that uses existing technologies or media platforms to primarily increase brand awareness through the exponential spreading of content on the inter-web (replicating a viral like process). Basically, it’s word-of-mouth on the internet enhanced by the network effects of the Internet.
Viral Marketing can take place on many platforms and media such as text, images, e-books, apps can go viral but I love me a good old viral YouTube video. Specifically, ads in the form of YouTube videos (viral ads) that gather millions of view and bring tremendous amounts of marketing value for the brand. Here are five of my favorite viral ads that were successful in 2013 on YouTube:
Girls Don’t Poop by PooPourri.com
Volvo Trucks: The Epic Split
Evian Water: Baby & Me
Dove Real Beauty Sketches
Ship My Pants by KMART
Tell me how much you loved them in the comments down below. Also, which was your favorite viral ad?
Daily Marketing Read 
My favourite viral ad was the Evian one by a mile. Their alternate take on “Live Young” is super refreshing, funny and engaging. Water is a really difficult product to market – I reckon Bisleri and other Indian brands could take a tip or two. Good post, love. Keep it coming xx
Very insightful! My favourites would have to be Evian and Dove. Evian because it breaks the former image that it had of being an elite product because of its price and placement etc and now it seems approachable and definitely more endearing as a brand. Dove because whether we would like to admit or not, it touches a cord with every single woman out there and so strong that it really makes you pause for a minute and think about what we are aspiring for and of lack of its depth . Because of that feeling the whole ‘purity’ tag gets so ingrained in our minds and thats a win win for the brand in my opinion.