Tipp-Ex has become the darling of the tech press after launching a viral interactive video that’s racked up millions of YouTube views since its launch two weeks ago. Not bad for a decidedly low-tech brand. But how does it stand up to some of the most successful virals we’ve seen lately. Can it outdo the Roger Federer Gillette video from earlier this summer, for example? The results may surprise you.

The Coca-Cola Happiness Machines are multiplying, even in a place where there’s little mirth today: London. That’s right, Coke has taken its viral YouTube video sensation to the other side of the pond, setting up its wondrous vending machine to a university campus in London with some predictably sweet results.

In the economic downturn, companies are doing everything possible to simultaneously cut costs and build a loyal customer base around their brands. The automotive sector has led the way in this, as it was forced to overcome the the two-pronged assault of a struggling economy and ongoing pressure from the eco-lobby. As we reported last month, electronic car companies like Tesla Motors are taking brand building to social networks to help build grassroots excitement around the new technology, and Ford ditched the traditional closed-door auto show for the release of the 2011 Explorer, which proved to be good for customer reach and cutting costs.

Gillette has pulled a page from the Nike social media playbook with a super viral video on YouTube featuring tennis star Roger Federer. The video, which features Federer performing an amazing William Tell feat with a tennis ball, has gained over 4.5 million views since last week. Could this sport-stunt tactic become something for the marketing textbooks?

Philips head of global internal comms, Cameron Batten, spoke to Simply-communicate recently about a new internal communications channel the consumer electronics powerhouse has implemented to bring its disparate and nearby employees together to collaborate, inspire and promote knowledge sharing.

B2C social media initiatives get most of the attention, but that’s not to say there’s nothing innovative or interesting coming out of the B2B sector. In fact, business-to-business marketers are showing their savvy these days, even out-socializing most B2C players…

As far as social media integration on the enterprise level goes, these are early days. Scratch that. These are “scary”, early days for corporate executives, says digital pioneer Jeff Dachis, the founder in the 1990s of Razorfish, and now, the Dachis Group. Companies are still in the trial-and-error mode in terms of using the latest social media innovations and technologies to engage with customers and employees. Why the hesitancy?

PepsiCo’s head of social media B. Bonin Bough explains to SMI in this one-on-one video the key to implementing an organization-wide social media structure: it’s getting buy-in from the highest level of the organization. “That’s the win,” he says. And here’s what it means:

Reuters’ Leslie Gevirtz kicked up a bit of a fuss earlier this week when she reported how French winemakers are still a bit too snobby when it comes to social media marketing, particularly when compared to more net-savvy New World producers. She based some of her reportage on a recent study conducted by My Social Winery that detailed just how anti-social French winemakers are. The results may surprise you.

Creativity can be a powerful force, particularly in the world of cause-related marketing. But can so-called “good creative” motivate us to change our rigid ways? What if it’s to make the world a better place?