In an earlier post, I had mentioned the wonders and growing popularity of the viral video. Ad firms could spend far less to reach an audience that compares to some of the biggest ratings on tv today. In an email later on in the week, a colleague had said that the viral video was dead, that the online community with a system of social currency where users were rewarded for their participation was the new way to go. I really couldn’t disagree more with his comment, when viral has gone totally subliminal, and has kept growing in a market where user generated content is really a mask for a huge brand push.

The viral hasn’t died because people still like seeing crazy people do crazy things, the only problem is telling whether or not it’s real. Over the past few days, I’ve discovered more viral videos with a subliminal brand push, and for the most part, the general audience passes it off as the real deal. For example, a ball girl at a minor league baseball game climbs 15ft up a wall in order to catch a foul ball. The “catch”, no pun intended, is the Gatorade bottle beside her feet when she sits back down. Closer analysis from those who guard their internet have announced that a Chicago based ad firm created the video regarding a Gatorade project.

People love seeing a girl spiderman her way up a wall for a baseball. Throw in a product somewhere in the video, and you have yourself crazy content to push around - “If I drink Gatorade, can I leap into the air like that?” Who knows, maybe.