Media: All about ... Viral advertising campaigns.

At the risk of being tasteless, viral can make a big impact.

For those who haven't seen it yet, the spoof Volkswagen 'suicide bomber' clip can be seen at www.boreme.com. By the time you read this, the perpetrators of this viral outrage could be behind bars, but somehow it seems unlikely: having registered its anger, VW has since accepted an apology from the creators of the spot and dropped the threat of legal action.

The bizarre aspect to this episode is the fact that the producers of the clip (they can be found at LeeandDan.com) aren't anti-advertising guerrillas with a pathological hatred of German car companies.

They are creatives. They made the clip in an attempt to impress VW and its agency. They were touting for work - and have a track record in this part of the business. The clip wasn't meant for public consumption; it managed to escape into cyberspace quite by accident.

Careless. The effect was the same, however. A reminder, if a reminder were needed, that mischief spreads faster than the speed of light on the internet.

Somewhat perversely, it's also a reminder that viral is still very much with us - and has been continuing to seek a legitimate place on mainstream marketing schedules in recent years.

Ironically, Volkswagen has in the past been known to push the boundaries of taste and decency with its own virals. Check out, for example, 'bollocks' (at www.kontraband.com) which features a little girl saying, er, 'bollocks'.