A few days ago that tweet caught my eye. It’s one more line item on the lengthy list of Things to Blame the Internet For. If there was such a list, it would probably wrap around the earth a few times and include things such as bad grammar and a lack of privacy. I’ll admit it, the internet doesn’t have a great rap sheet and I’m not sure it’s innocent on many of these claims either. Cool, however, is not something that has been ruined by the internet.

Let’s take a closer look at the statement because to me, it can be interpreted in two ways:

A. The internet has the ability to spread content to so many people, that once everyone has seen it, it is no longer cool.
B. The vast amount of online platforms for people to create, upload, and share their content has led to everyone copying one another.

Looking at each of those statements from an advertisers’ perspective, I see a world of opportunity. It may seem counter intuitive, but it should be our goal to get our clients’ brands to be so successful in the digital space that they are no longer cool. Think about it for a second. Can you imagine if your campaign was seen by so many people that everyone that was cool had seen it? Can you imagine if everyone started copying your ads and making their own to share with others?

The internet’s potential to ruin cool is the best thing advertisers could ask for. It is a breath of fresh air. One of the best examples of the internet ruining cool is Old Spice’s “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign. Either way you interpret the statement above, the campaign is guilty on both accounts. First, it spread to so many people that consumers felt that everyone had already seen it. If you watched those YouTube videos today, they probably wouldn’t be that cool anymore. Secondly, the campaign was copied by scores of people. I bet if you filmed another Old Spice knock-off commercial today, it wouldn’t be that cool. Thanks to the internet, Old Spice’s commercials aren’t that cool anymore. And I bet if you asked the CEO of Procter & Gamble, he wouldn’t care one bit.

All in all, the internet shouldn’t be blamed for ruining cool. It should be praised for giving advertisers our greatest challenge – ruining cool.