viral marketing

Minneapolis-based furniture company Blu Dot is known for creating some out-of-the-ordinary promotions, including the very cool incident two years ago when they dropped 25 Real Good chairs around New York City. This time, the company is encouraging fans to swap a talent or collection for a piece of furniture. Confused? Check out this video featuring local music star Har Mar Superstar for the details.

Here's how it works: First, pick out any Blu Dot item you want, then add an interesting offer in exchange for that item — taxidermy collections, bizarre self portraits, and balloon animal parties are all fair game. Then, upload your offer to the site between now and March 11. You can also submit an under-five-minute-long video to help promote your offer. Be sure to check the site to see the status of your bid.

No minors are allowed, and nothing overly weird or disturbing, please (in Blu Dot's words, "be creative but don't be stupid"). Interested in adding your talent or item to the online swap meet? Find out more information about this promotion on Blu Dot's Swap Meet page or Facebook page

Did it just get hot in here? Much to the pleasure of women everywhere, the Old Spice Guy (aka Isaiah Mustafa) and his shirtless abs have returned to YouTube.

Adding on to what could have been the most successful viral campaign ever, Old Spice will soon be releasing a series of educational ads starring Mustafa that will also "carry an entertainment value that is second to none." I can't wait. Check out the introduction video (you're going to want to see this) after the break.

Everyone needs a little pick-me-up during the workday; mine are Lady Gaga videos and movie trailers for comic book and sci-fi flicks. On heavy rotation these days is the trailer for the highly anticipated sci-fi film, Tron Legacy. Being totally OK in my world of geekdom, I'll admit to you that just thinking about the movie gets me excited, really excited. While I was too young to watch the original film in the theaters, it became one of my favorites growing up. But as much as I love it, it's starting to look a little dated. Luckily, the clips for Tron Legacy portray a digital world like nothing I've ever seen before. In a word: awesome.

The marketing for the film has been super fun to experience, and often viral. Fans at last year's Comic-Con were treated to a blacklight scavenger hunt that led them to "Flynn's Arcade" and a real lightcycle, news articles from the faux Tron world are being released, and the Disney monorails were transformed into lightcycles. Besides all the fun viral video game hunting you can do, an animated movie poster for Tron Legacy was revealed in Germany recently. All I have to say is that this slick ad campaign is working. Hey Disney, continue to throw these little nuggets of Tron my way until the December release and I'm yours! Check out the sleek animated poster after the break.