Viral Marketing Campaign for "The Avengers" Kicks Off... in 2008?!?

On May 2, 2008, the movie "Iron Man" was released to widespread acclaim. Not only did it open the common movie-goers eyes to B-list superheroes, it also made Robert Downey Jr a household name and shot him into the stratosphere of stardom. But to many fans of comic books and superheroes, the most exciting part of that movie was the mere seconds that happened after the credits started rolling. Just as a refresher - by the end of "Iron Man," Tony Stark (Downey Jr) has decided to ignore the helping hand of S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson, and announces to the world that he is Iron Man. If you were smart enough to wait after the credits, you were treated with the following scene:

Samuel L. Jackson is portraying S.H.I.E.L.D Director Nick Fury, the man who, in the comics, brings together each of Earth's mightiest heroes to form the Avengers. In the very, very short clip, Marvel makes it abundantly clear that they have something MUCH bigger than just an Iron Man franchise up its sleeves. With just this tantalizing hint from Nick Fury, the viral marketing for "The Avengers" was born. And, while they might not consider it as part of the campaign, it got people excited and talking about a movie that, at that point, had not even been announced yet. Sounds like viral marketing at its best to me.