Like Braveheart, this is the story of the Scottish people (ad industry) being fearlessly saved by the brave efforts of a tough hero (brand) played by Mel Gibson (Levi's and Sony Ericsson).
 Just like in the movies, the ad industry is in trouble, but the kind of trouble they manage to get out of at the very last minute -- with true cinematic grit and timing -- or, in this case, thanks to brazen freethinkers who are doing something new to clean up the mess.
The ad industry is being whacked from all sides. But nothing is more threatening than big-ticket brands deciding to forgo paid advertising for something that's proven effective and a heck of a lot cheaper.
In the United States, Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications Ltd. is taking one such dramatic turn with a guerilla campaign in support of its T68i, a mobile phone that doubles as a digital camera.
At a reported cost of $5 million, Sony Ericsson hired a small army of actors to circulate, incognito, in tourist spots and bars where they would make casual conversation with people while conspicuously displaying the T68i. The actor might then ask someone to use the camera to snap his or her picture. Unless asked, the actors did not reveal they were on the job, working for Sony Ericsson.
Well, certain media commentators went into conniptions over Sony Ericsson's tactics. Among the offended is Matthew Lynn, a columnist for Bloomberg News, who blasted Sony Ericsson's guerilla marketers as "human spam."
With all due respect, he just doesn't get it. The urban-youth demo in question, far from being offended, is likely to get a kick out of the marketer's resourcefulness. After all, the actors fit into the environment and those consumers who were genuinely interested in theT68i received useful product information.
Commentators went into conniptions over Sony Ericsson's guerilla marketing tactics.
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Similarly, the European mainstream press took Levis Strauss to task for a satirical guerilla campaign in support of its Dockers casual-clothing line. The tongue-in-cheek effort included a publication called "I Don't Like Mondays," that discussed, among other things, offensive body odor and the problem of "mouse arm," caused by ill-fitting suits.
In this instance, the general criticism was that the campaign displayed a mocking tone that was disrespectful of consumers and the company's traditions.
Conventional, mainstream observers on both sides of the Atlantic fail to grasp the elemental nature of guerilla communications. As Che Guevara explained it, a guerilla campaign can only be effective if it has the support of the people where it is being conducted.
Although establishment commentators may perceive Sony Ericsson to have broken a consumer trust by using undercover actors to promote its goods, the campaign was appropriate because the target audience -- upon learning the truth -- would more than likely consider the tactic to be a clever idea.
Likewise, many people may consider the pan-European Levi's Dockers campaign to be sophomoric and demeaning -- but the opinion of the target market is all that matters.
The case for guerilla advertising is simple. Unlike mass-market advertising, which delivers messages to eyeballs that are unqualified except by program type or preference in reading material, guerilla advertising first identifies its target and then dispatches its payload.
A guerilla campaign can only be effective if it has the support of the people to where it is being conducted.
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The mechanics of viral marketing are different, but the outcome is similar since people tend to be selective about what they say or communicate to others.
I can supply an example of this principal in action from my own personal experience. Reef, the California-based maker of surf-inspired footwear, has a viral email in circulation showing photos of gorgeous, scantily-clad women competing in a model-search contest. I received the email from a friend, and passed it along to a few other friends who I was sure would appreciate it.
But there were also many people I considered sending it to -- but didn't -- because I thought they might be offended.
Talk about targeting. And Reef didn't have to pay me a cent. Consumer support and participation of this kind is what makes guerilla marketing so effective.
The bottom line is that the appropriateness of any particular guerilla campaign should be judged only the audience to which it is directed. 
Scott Goodson is co-founder and creative partner of StrawberryFrog, an independent ad agency that specializes in building brands for international clients from its office in Amsterdam. The author would like to thank Heather Fullerton, managing director of cross border guerrilla marketing agency BlueberryFrog, who provided lots of input. And special thanks to wizard Pat Allosery for, well, magic. Since its launch in March 1999, StrawberryFrog has worked on multi-country assignments for Levi Strauss & Co., Sprint, Nokia, Pfizer, United Pan Communications, Credit Suisse, Ford Motor Co., Microsoft Corp., Smart Car, Xerox and Motorola.
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