Hotmail (1996)

Hotmail.com

The signatures attached to every outgoing Hotmail message were one of the earliest examples of viral marketing and gave way to the e-mail services’ early success. Sent to every recipient of a Hotmail advertising subscription to Microsoft’s free e-mail service, the signatures quickly attracted more than 150,000 subscribers within its first week on a budget of $500,000-$19 million dollars less than competitor Juno.

‘The Blair Witch Project’ (1996)

Blairwitch.com

In documentary style, the film featuring three teenagers venture into supposedly haunted woods made the local legend of the Blair Witch into a legend of viral achievements. Grossing $248 million worldwide from a budget of $22 million, marketing the film as real events garnered a buzz such that the three actors were ‘missing, presumed dead,’ according the Internet Movie Database.

‘The Ka’s Evil Twin’ (2004)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Guufs3mdgg

Created by Oglivy & Mather, an international advertising agency, the viral video of a ginger shorthaired cat’s decapitation by a Ford SportKa infuriated animal rights groups worldwide, for which the agency has released apologies. Oglivy & Mather assured viewers no animals were harmed in the ads creation, and they were in fact visual effects.

‘The Subservient Chicken’ (2004)

Subservientchicken.com

To advertise their newest TenderCrisp sandwiches in 2004, Burger King and advertising firm Crispin Porter + Bogusky launched ‘The Subservient Chicken’ on the Internet. With a man dressed as a chicken in his living room, at the mercy of his viewer’s commands, the Web site received 396 million hits from 14 million unique visitors within a year, according to AdWeek.

‘Chevy Apprentice’ (2006)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=aasSEl-Cr9Y

A viral contest advertising the Chevy Tahoe backfired when its make-your-own ad promotion became a tool for global activists. The advertisement was later pulled when derogatory and negative ads were found posted, one claiming that these gas-guzzling SUVs were an expensive compensation for a diminutive anatomy.

Election ’08 (2008)

Dailypaul.com, Obamagirl.typepad.com

Using online grassroots movements, Republican political candidate Ron Paul raised more than $6 million in 24 hours for his 2008 presidential campaign, the largest one-day fundraiser in U.S. political history. Democratic runner Barack Obama has paid $240,000 for the maintenance of his Web site and social networking profiles, but has received $16.4 million in donations from donors who paid in increments of $200 or less.

Published on January 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm