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It sounded strange coming from a person who owes his fame and fortune to tons of viewers on YouTube ...

"Viral is dead," announced Kevin Nalty, interactive media marketing expert and YouTube star, speaking at Marketing Week, a digital marketing conference hosted by the Canadian Marketing Association this week.

Nalty, a former marketer for Johnson & Johnson and Merck & Co Inc., has posted more than 800 videos that have been viewed more than 110 million times by fans around the world.

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Nalty conceded that "every once in a while someone proves [him] wrong with an exception -- such as the roller dancing babies video for Evian." (The video has already been viewed more than 11 million times).

But the fact, he said, is even the most successful viral branded marketing videos aren't getting as many views as popular independent YouTube creations.

The YouTube icon now runs Nalts Consulting an advertising and marketing firm specializing in social media and online videos based in Doylestown, Penn.

"Please, please don't chase the viral dream," Nalty pleaded.

He admits "there is still some potential for profit" but the viral video is largely the domain of indie-type projects rather than big budget productions.

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