Well, it’s official. Viral marketing is now just another tool to be used in boring and unimaginative ways.

Link: The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising > Advertising: Interactive Viral Campaigns Ask Consumers to Spread the Word by Nat Ives

To seed the campaign, as viral marketers say, Georgia-Pacific sent a single blast of e-mail messages last week to consumers who had signed up for newsletters from http://www.allyourrooms.com, a Georgia-Pacific site that provides information on topics like decorating, entertaining and cleaning. Visitors to the Brawny site will find a section for the tongue-in-cheek "Innocent Escapes" videos in which a strong but sensitive Brawny Man offers compliments like, "By the way, you look beautiful today – something about your eyes." Ari Merkin, executive creative director at Fallon New York, noted that "Innocent Escapes" visitors would find both a "play movie" button and an all-important second button, "send to a friend."