Anyone still going viral?

I remember viral advertising being the flavour of the month a few years ago.

Every ad agency out there was touting the concept - create some tool, video or website that would capture the popular imagination and create enormous online 'word-of-mouth' at a low cost.

However when it came to execution, it was very hard to create a viral ad. No-one could accurately pick what would fly and what would bomb.

These days I don't see the word tossed around very often - everyone, including me, is talking social media.

However that doesn't invalidate viral marketing.

If you can create that buzz, the approach still works. The challenge is in the buzz (which this BMW ad has managed to create).

I've not seen much in the way of innovative government advertising for some time - not since the ten-pin bowling grim reaper - The reaper can still be viewed online at YouTube and has been featured on The Chaser. The original ad was created over twenty years ago.

Does this reflect the difficulty of creating viral ads? Or the loss of creativity in government advertising?

Have you seen any online advertising lately you just had to pass on to at least one friend?