Is Nissan Forcing Viral?

Nissan is being accused of trying to force "viral" with their advertisements for the GT-R. The car company's marketers are working hard to make it appear as though the new Black Mask campaign has the entire blogosphere abuzz. The campaign is set to be unveiled at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show.

When an ad becomes viral, it refers to "A marketing phenomenon that facilitates and encourages people to pass along a marketing message voluntarily," according to Wikipedia. "It is claimed that a satisfied customer tells an average of three people about a product or service he/she likes, and eleven people about a product or service which he/she did not like. Viral marketing is based on this natural human behaviour."

Ironically, Nissan has managed to achieved this, not through their ability to put together a stellar campaign, but for getting people talking about how ineffective their attempt at a viral commercial was.

"The campaign, called The Black Mask Project, is an obvious riff on the black covering that has masked the GT-R's nose in so many spy shots as of late," AutoBlog reported. "Of course, there's a website that is equal parts over-produced and confusing. It basically hosts video snippets of 'masked' GT-Rs being hauled down busy streets behind large trucks and accompanied by an army of Black Mask agents on foot wearing dark suits and, well, black masks."

I think the point is, it worked, people are talking, and Nissan is once again a word at the tips of the fingers of the most influential bloggers.