We all know this person and usually it's because they've found a way to make us be the one carrying their filthy load.  They hang around doing just enough to get by and when crunch time comes they're missing in action and we're left with the sore back and the pleasure of having done their dirty work.  Somewhere up on the top deck they're touting how great it is that the ship is moving right on course toward whatever beautiful port awaits and we're stuck below deck in the greasy, sweaty underbelly being flogged and cursed at by a brutal slave master that insists we row faster and harder, harder and faster without fresh air, decent rations, or even token pay just to keep the wunderkind on schedule for a massage, a manicure, and a martini!  We all hate that person, don't we?

So why is it we're so swift to volunteer to do the heavy lifting when a marketer comes along with a 'cute little gimmick' that serves little purpose other than to make us smile for a few moments and then virally infects the world with that company's message?  You help them do it and so do I.  I'm not proud of it-- but I do it!  Now I have a long-standing internet policy that forbids me from caring if I get struck by lightning or dropped off a cliff if I choose NOT to pass along an e-mail immediately to my distribution of friends and associates-- no matter how beautiful or heartwarming the message of hope or inspiration might be.  Somewhere I have sisters that believe I'm a complete, heartless jerk for not re-sending along their chain letters and also copying them back from whence they came to make sure I receive the blessings and good fortune I so richly deserve!  Somewhere in cyberspace there's a cyber-hell for all of us cold, cruel, heartless souls that simply as a matter of principle won't pass along the electronic Amber Alerts or the thinly-veiled Ponzi schemes dressed as well-intentioned charities.  So why is it we send along a company's advertisement so willingly-- for free?

This crossed my desktop yesterday and I opened it, laughed loud enough for co-workers to notice, and promptly inserted my bride's face and forwarded the result along to my daughter in Paris, my son in the Bay Area, and my bride herself at home.  I couldn't resist the temptation to visualize my daughter opening the link over her breakfast and snorting cafe au lait all over herself and her pain du chocolat as she watches her mother dance the elf dance on screen (to snort cafe au lait all over yourself and YOUR pain du chocolat when watching my bride dance, follow the link here and enjoy-- feel free to help do some of the Office Max marketing department's heavy lifting and Elf Yourself if you're so inclined!). 

So a silly little widget is now being virally passed all around the world and likely will have a half-life longer than a Twinkie and probably create as many smiles and the only thing I can feel besides a mild case of disgust at myself for perpetuating the ad is how do I figure out what the next 'silly little widget is' and turn it to my advantage here?

And you should be thinking that about your business too!

I'm curious what you think are the great viral messages that have crossed your path-- the ones that had you willing to do the lifting and expecting only a token in return.  What caused you to take an action that brought benefit to a marketer-- knowingly or unknowingly?  What caught your attention and made you dance the marketing 'elf dance' for free?  Feel free to share your thoughts here and then let's figure out what we might do to get this kind of viral exposure working toward our own marketing efforts.

A good message isn't always pretty, doesn't always say a lot, and often is ridiculously silly.  But good marketing will cause people to take an action and good marketing will have people willing to help you carry the heavy load (if it doesn't simply invite you to step up to the top deck and get ready for your massage, your manicure, and your martini while it does the lifting for you!).