pread the word, not the disease', is not just the catchphrase of a particular AIDS awareness campaign. It is also a line some marketers seem to be touting today. A look at the Chitthi Aayi Hai viral for Microsoft Outlook, will bear this out.

For the uninitiated, Microsoft had launched a viral campaign for its Outlook software, titled Chitthi Aayi Hai where an animated singer (supposed to be ghazal singer Pankaj Udhaas) renders the popular song by the same name. The viral emphasised the speed of Outlook versus snail mail. The popular viral defines viral marketing - any form of marketing that relies on word-of-mouth publicity. Remember Hotmail? Today it is cited in marketing schools as a case study in successful viral marketing. ... more