Canada tried viral marketing. The campaign acronym was SARS. Didn't go so well.

As long as brands are shouting their messages on consumers, not realizing the behavioral changes, and not providing something that is useful and valuable - I think this would continue to happen. And as Thom said, we have quite a task ahead of us. As for Bell, I think they are confused. They try to walk the "one size fits all" strategy line but usually fall off.

I'm always curious to see what people think of advertising, or why they like a certain ad. In turn, I'm also curious to hear how creatives tell people what they do to the "laity". Break things down and ask "why" enough and you'll get to the core message, and it will quickly become clear whether it's getting through or not. As Thom said, Bell seems to be — at least in his small segment — appealing to an older demographic. Not exactly the hip, twenty-something demo they were evidently targeting, but a measure of success nonetheless. I guess the real measure will come if corporations and advertisers tweak campaigns as they go to resonate more with a market segment that's reacting, rather than continually attempting to force it down an ideal market's throat. Everyone wants to target the twentysomethings, but if it's consistently resonating the best with the older crew, would it be wise to shift gears long term?