11. This Year's Buzz-Builder

District 9 (2009)

Carrying the viral torch into the next decade is Neill Blomkamp’s sci-fi movie District 9.

The campaign centres on the eponymous district – an enclosed, Johannesburg-based ghetto, built to contain an alien race who’ve landed on Earth and are policed by a shady corporation known as Multi-National United.

(Their slogan: “Keeping humans safe by keeping non-humans separate” is sure to be misappropriated by BNP goons soon enough).

Viral Links: D-9.com

Infectious? It’s not a huge leap forward, but this is an accomplished and clever campaign that, Watchmen-style, blurs the boundaries between real-world/movie fantasy.

12. The Personal Touch

Iron Man 2 (2010)

During pre-production on Iron Man, Jon Favreau realised that you don’t need to build fancy websites to go viral.

The director was one of the first Hollywood filmmakers to embrace social networking, setting up a MySpace page to drum up support for his take on ol’ shellhead.

A couple of years on and he’s at it again, taking advantage of new-fangled microblogging sensation Twitter to get the word out on his superhero sequel. (He recently Twittered the first pic of Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow).

Viral Links: twitter.com/Jon_Favreau

Infectious? Iron Man proved that the personal touch of social networking can be a potent weapon in the viral arsenal.

Expect many more filmmakers to follow suit soon enough - much to the frustration of the studio PR machine.

Next: 2012