Pepsi Max and Jeff Gordon: 'Test Drive'

The new Pepsi Max commercial, featuring Nascar driver Jeff Gordon, is the latest ad to put an unwitting member of the public through hell for our amusement. The premise is simple: disguise a driving superstar and send him into a car dealership. Then take an unsuspecting auto salesman on the test drive of his life.

Cue contorted expressions of fear, swearing and calls to get the police involved. The ad has been dogged by controversy over whether it is fake or not. However, it's a piece of social-video gold and has already become the 14th-most-shared ad of all time.

Brands playing cruel pranks on supposedly unsuspecting members of the public is a growing trend. Carlsberg's ad that puts friendship to the test (see below) is another good example.

Research has found that the secret of sharing success is eliciting the strongest possible emotions from your viewers - and capturing people's reactions to a stunt is a clever way of doing this.

Ones to watch: Viral hits from this week

Adidas - Play the Messi way

Adidas has unveiled a 'unique movement' dedicated to footballer Lionel Messi. To mark the launch of 'Team Messi', the brand has released a film showcasing his 'flair, honesty, precision and speed'.

Fiat 500L - The Fatherhood

The sequel to Fiat's 'The Motherhood' film switches the action to a stressed New Romantic dad dealing with twins. The ad clocked up 500,000 views in its first week on YouTube.

Carlsberg puts friends to the test

Carlsberg gets people to call friends in the middle of the night pretending to have lost money in a poker game. The pals must enter a dodgy looking gambling den before learning it's a wind-up.