Icing: Viral Fad or Agency Ploy

Icing, as defined by Wikipedia, is a drinking game in which an individual is forced to drink a Smirnoff Ice.  Icing does have a few simple rules: present the Ice to a friend without his/her knowledge, make them get down on one knee (regardless of the setting), and chug the Ice as quickly as possible.  Who came up with these rules I have no idea but, somehow, they are known and accepted.  Icing has caught on to college campuses like wild fire.

Urban dictionary, Brosicingbros.com, and Icingcount.com are among the multitude of websites hosting information about the art of Icing.  YouTube even has over 1,000 videos of people getting Iced in ridiculous ways at all times of the day.  The library, airport, bedroom, and office are all unsafe places now.  For the Icing enthusiast, the sky is the limit for how and where they plot to Ice someone.

Recently, I witnessed an Icing event.  It occurred in the library on the quietest of the quiet floors (that’s right… the 8^th floor). My roommate and I were trying to be productive when a friend came up to say hello… or so we thought.  Luckily, I am not in this Icing battle which has been going on for quite some time and just watched as the Icing occurred. She had to take a knee and chug the extra large, double Smirnoff Ice right there in the ZSR Library.  Previously, she had come home to find an Ice in our mailbox with a nice little note saying, “Enjoy!”  The competition was on!

This new game brings up questions: Where did Icing begin? Who thought of it? Why Smirnoff Ice and not Mike’s Hard Lemonade? Is Smirnoff at all responsible for the viral campaign?  Some think Icing started in the South and others have no clue.  Either way, Icing has become hugely popular on both coasts.  The name “Icing” or “getting Iced” has a nice ring to it and that could simply be the root of why Smirnoff is used and not Mike’s. 

Smirnoff claims to have no tie to the viral campaign. But then again, why would they? The game caught on partly because Smirnoff Ice tastes awful and is considered torture to have to drink one.  It could be genius on Smirnoff’s part to start a viral campaign like this one to promote the malt liquor beverage because their sales have drastically increased.  The “game” mentality of “getting Iced” has made it more acceptable for guys to drink which expanded the market. It has become a rapidly growing competition between friends and has potential to keep growing. 

So could the Icing fad have been started by “bro” college students? It is definitely possible.  Who knows how much longer this will go on or if another game will take its place?  Maybe “Ambushing” will be the next big viral campaign and overtake Icing. Only time will tell.  But either way, I don’t think anyone thought Icing would go viral so quickly and become such a trend. So for now, keep your eyes open because you may be next! 

Chrissy Moreyra is a senior Business & Enterprise Management major with a concentration in Marketing and minor in Economics.