Laughing All the Way

More of this Feature • Part 2: Joke A Day's Traffic Jam • Part 3: AOL Aspect • Part 4: AOL Virus Hoax Copy Join the Discussion "What do you think of Mr. Owens' joke that turned into a publicity stunt?" In the Advertising Forum Related Resources • When Advertising Works Too Well • Snapple Gets Sexy • Sizzle & Stirring It Up • Better Pizza? Bigger Lawsuit. • Offline Ads for an Online Presence • Public Relations Resources From Other Guides Elsewhere on the Web • JokeADay.com • AOL.EXE Virus Coverage

The AOL Virus Hoax produced a lot of laughs as well as a lot of anger. Recently, I interviewed Ray Owens, the joke's creator, to investigate the advertising side this publicity brought on. The following piece is based on that interview.

-Apryl Duncan

Ray Owens sparked a whirlwind of emotions when he created the AOL.EXE virus hoax and sent it out to his JokeADay.com mailing list. Little did he know, his joke would turn out to be the biggest publicity stunt the Internet has ever seen.

Mr. Owens' joke targeted America Online users and told them they should delete their AOL.EXE file in order to "free your IQ to go above 85." The virus hoax took on a life of its own and many AOL users believed the virus warning was real. Ultimately, they deleted the .EXE file, removing their access to the Internet.

The joke caused quite a stir in the online community. JokeADay.com instantly gained worldwide exposure from media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, CNET, Yahoo, The Standard, ZDNet, AOL, InfoWorld, Science Magazine, PCWorld.com, USA Today and About.com.

Mr. Owens generated a whole new fan base for his Web site through this newfound publicity. Even the controversy behind his joke caused a firestorm of response.

Immediately after the hoax was sent out to over 342,000 of his mailing list subscribers, Mr. Owens would open his Email box to find 300 to 400 messages waiting on him. All in all, he says he's received anywhere between 3,000 to 3,500 Emails both praising his joke and ridiculing his sense of humor. Some of those Emails came straight from AOL users.

Margaret, an AOL subscriber, wrote Mr. Owens saying, "This was beautiful. I'm putting it right up there with Orson Welles and his radio program War of the Worlds. Keep up the good work!"

Nancy, also an AOL subscriber, didn't agree. "I found your rant about AOL subscribers tasteless and insulting. Guess I can't take a joke," she wrote.

But Mr. Owens says his joke was just that: a joke.

"Anyone who could read and comprehend English at a basic level would have been able to figure out (and appreciate) the fact that it was a joke," he said. "And several AOL people who can do those things wrote me in appreciation of it."

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