Advertising Merges with Entertainment

Viral marketing is quickly becoming a mainstay of traditional marketing communication programs. Those funny little video clips that spread across the Internet like an outbreak of influenza have become so popular that they are moving from the realm of culture jamming or sheer entertainment. The capacity to reach so many people for so little cost has grabbed the attention of marketing firms and many of the large consumer brands. Companies are working hard to blend their sales pitch with entertainment, be it Burfer King's subservient chicken or  CareerBuilder's talking monkey  showing up in your e-mail inbox. Here's a link to a good article from the Wharton School on the subject of viral markekting merging advertising with entertainment.

Link: Talking Chimps, Subservient Chickens And Others Blend Entertainment and Advertising - Knowledge@Wharton.