MasterCard launches a virus (not the bad kind...)

This weblog is generally more focused on viral/buzz marketing for individuals and small businesses, but it doesn't hurt to follow what the big boys are doing, does it? In that spirit, take a glance at the latest corporate viral marketing campaign by ad agency DMC for MasterCard. Both the agency and the campaign are U.K.-based (MasterCard is sponsoring the "Brit Awards"), but like everything else on the Internet it's really global.

When you click through to the site, you get a lineup of 25 quirky pop culture icons, each one with a text box underneath. The object of the game is to type in correct guesses for all 25 pictures (you get as many guesses as you like). If you make it, you are entered in a drawing for free tickets to the Brit Awards. Now, for me this really would not be very useful since I'm across the Atlantic Ocean from the Brit Awards, but still...

Here's the viral part: you have an option at the bottom email the game to a friend along with your score, and you even have an incentive to do just that-even if you don't win the game, you get a shot at the free tickets for every friend who DOES win.

The game can be found here.