ABC News: Viral Ads Gain Respect as Marketing Tool

Gary Ruskin, director of anti-commercial group Commercial Alert, commented on the growing trend of viral marketing. He's not a fan. "This is just one of a million different ways that advertisers try to trick us every day," he said. "To the extent that people enjoy it, it's probably somewhat more effective, sure. But why is that good?"

Commercial Alert has in the past successfully limited advertisers' ability to use the web, for instance successfully complaining to the Federal Trade Commission that advertisers were improperly deceiving viewers on some search engines by mixing up paid listings with organic search results. Since viral marketing relies largely on viewers liking ads and forwarding the spots themselves, there is much less legal leverage for groups like Commercial Alert to exploit.