But Charlie Balch on the airI (Association of Internet Researchers) mailing list notes the pitfalls of word of mouth marketing. "We need a new term. Viral marketing doesn't fit" says Charlie, referring to a report in the Washington Post late last week. Amazon.com customer reviewers ran hilariously wild with the life-changing powers of a t-shirt featuring three wolves. Customers can be wise to all this "engagement" and "marketing is a conversation" rhetoric. The shirt is so kitsch it's cool to an online audience that appreciates irony. "Anybody, or any group, armed with a Web browser can anonymously game the system and manipulate the marketplace at sites inviting user feedback" says Mike Musgrove in the Washington Post.
Turns out the manufacturer of the Three Wolf Moon shirt isn't all that happy, calling the spate of ironic reviews "a viral assault" in the BBC News, while the art designer Michael McGloin reckons "we'll take ironic fashion any day."
