'Viral' advertising spreads through marketing plans

Viral advertising is spreading as a popular, efficient marketing tool, as consumers increasingly pick and choose what ads they watch and when.

Viral is today's electronic equivalent of old-fashioned word of mouth. It's a marketing strategy that involves creating an online message that's novel or entertaining enough to prompt consumers to pass it on to others — spreading the message across the Web like a virus at no cost to the advertiser. (Related: U.S. ads scoop up awards.)

Marketers have caught the bug and are increasingly weaving viral components into their marketing plans. Not only is the approach relatively inexpensive, but also it can sometimes be more believable than standard ads.

"People have grown increasingly skeptical of packaged, canned, Madison Avenue-speak," says Russ Klein, Burger King's chief marketing officer.

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