Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

You know, as I read the ongoing discussion of viral marketing - and reflect on Coke getting all huffy regarding the supremely silly (and popular) Mentos experiments (I love ‘em) - I wonder, have any of the people trying to sell and/or control viral marketing ever even watched a movie (let alone read a biology text?) Outbreak, 12 Monkeys, The Stand, Dawn of the Dead sequels…pick one, it’ll be educational!

Viruses generally don’t operate by our rules, particularly outside a carefully controlled lab environment. And, those are wee beasties with no minds. Once the virus is in a creature with opposable thumbs, brains, and freedom (monkey or human), life really gets unpredictable. Coke better start stocking up on executive HazMat suits! (Mentos, on the other hand, is relishing every mutation.)

Just for fun - I did a Google search on “viral marketing” and got 9,390,000 results. My, my, how those buzz words do self-replicate! And look at all them fancy formulas for success!

(I still can’t watch the first episode of The Stand by myself. Way too realistic. cough. cough.)

Read More: The Motley Fool - “Coke is an Idiot.”

Tags: marketing, marketing troubleshooting, Coke, diet coke, Mentos, viral marketing