Has your Facebook feed felt a little bit ‘wet’ lately? It is not just your social media feeds that have been saturated with the latest viral phenomena – the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge – but mainstream media too. We have seen the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Lady Gaga, Bill Gates and local names like Premier Jay Weatherill, radio personality Mark ‘Soda’ Soderstrom and an array of footy players getting in on the action.

With Motor Neurone Disease charities across the world reporting a spike in donations, it easily can be labeled as one of the most successful charity fundraiser drives ever. So why has it gone viral?

* It has a strong, compelling message
* It appeals to our social conscience and has emotional resonance
* It is simple to do
* It has a timeliness with a 24 hour turnaround on challenges
* The challenge appeals to our competitive natures and the age old school yard behaviour of peer group pressure
* We get a laugh out of seeing people, famous or not, pouring a bucket of freezing cold water all over themselves, especially when it goes wrong…. just check out some of ALS Ice Bucket Challenge fails here

And for those of you who don’t know what ALS stands for, like me, it is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, which is more commonly known as Motor Neurone Disease here in the Land of Oz. It goes to show that a good viral campaign transcends any brand awareness issues – you just need to add ice.