Alcohol-memes are the new non-alcohol-memes. In recent weeks we've had picklebacks, vodka-eyeballing and butt-chugging for fauxhemians, students and idiots respectively. Today's drinking-trend-sweeping the nation is called 'bros icing bros'. It's for frat boys. And it may be viral marketing.

Bros Icing Bros, as this informative Awl post explains, is a game whereby a Bro (who we will call 'Bro 1') confronts another Bro ('Bro 2') with a warm, syrupy Smirnoff Ice. Bro 2, on receiving the bottle, must drop to one knee and chug it. If, however, Bro 2 already has a Smirnoff Ice on him, then Bro 1 must chug both the bottles, a move known as an ice block.

We will admit that it's not quite chess. But the kids apparently love it. The Awl cites sources at places as diverse as Goldman Sachs and Vice Magazine claiming Icings in the buildings. People have even taken 38 or so minutes out of their lives to set up a a Wordpress blog and a T-shirt site.

But, like a child savaged by a dog, we are now wary of the viral phenomena... um, dog. (It's Friday, and it's hot and we're not good with the metaphors right now, OK?) Liquid Mountaineering, a video that featured people walking on water in special shoes was enjoyed by many human beings on the internet. It was later revealed to be a marketing scam.

We have seen documents from inside a major advertising agency (by which we mean someone forwarded us an email) that celebrate the fact that Bros Icing Bros "is re-introducing the Smirnoff brand to an entirely new demographic in a new, insanely stupid way." This agency has, admittedly, got nothing to do with Smirnoff Ice and does not represent them as a client. And the Awl's researches seem to indicate that it's organic. But if it occurred to one set of advertising types...

Be vigilant people. The marketers are everywhere. And they are even coming (at around 4.30) for Coolio: