Smoking Smarties and the Return of Long-Tail

A bit like the diliquent younger brother of the Mentos and Diet Coke virals that came before, there is a new candy stunt in town: Smoking Smarties!

Now, for most, the response to this video (and many other like it) is to either comment on how brands struggle to control their own image in the digital age or how scandelous it is for young children to be emulating smoking.

For me, the most interesting this about this sudden phenomenon is how long it’s actually been around:

Kids have been hip to the phenomenon for quite some time, apparently. Along with the dozens of how-to videos on YouTube, there are many MySpace mentions, a Facebook support group for “all you who are addicted to smoking Smarties,” and countless bulletin boards and chat rooms full of smoking-Smarties confessions. (via)

One of the really cool and uncontrollable elements of the internet is that once something is out there it can sometimes lay dormant for weeks or even years before getting noticed, linked, dug and suddenly it’s the new hot thing.

This is ye ol’ “long-tail effect” that was so the rage for a while.  The thing is, the long-tail is real but it is completely impossible to predict or rely upon its behavior.

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Other Links to this Post

1. Smoking Smarties! — March 17, 2009 @ 1:17 pm

2. Internet Bullies | Best Chat Forums — July 25, 2009 @ 6:37 am

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