Of course you do. More accurately, according to research, four out of five of you do.

The Florida Department of Health (FLDOH) wanted to do something about that fifth guy.

(Germs can disseminate—if your mother didn't tell you a million times—from dirty hands and not covering your mouth when you sneeze or cough.)

While at this point you may be wondering what clean hands and branding have in common, FLDOH faced a challenge confronting almost any traditional brand: effectively communicating a message on the web. It's not as simple as converting brochure or marketing copy into HTML; brands must understand the advantages—as well as the limitations—of using online media to deliver that message. And FLDOH's humorous hygiene site is nothing to sneeze at.

FLDOH already had a website that covers, among other things, influenza, but it looks like, well, any other government-department web presence that has lots of text, few images, and a wide range of health-related content.

In developing a separate site to promote pandemic prevention, FLDOH could have followed the lead of the Quebec government, whose text-heavy flu-specific site flashes a banner that announces (in case you were wondering) THERE'S NO INFLUENZA PANDEMIC IN QUEBEC. (Check back for updates!) The site is informative but teeming with so much information that one wonders whether anyone beyond the paranoid or the hypochondriac will sift through it all.

The US Department of Health and Human Services manages pandemicflu.gov, which at least goes beyond the "online pamphlet" strategy by streaming a video, the entertainment value of which depends on how amusing you find a precocious 7-year-old asking his grandpa, "Should we be taking precautionary measures in case bird flu becomes a pandemic?"

Developed with the agency Marketing for Change, the campaign—featuring billboards and radio and TV ads—has an online home with a catchy URL (5thguy.com) and looks like one of those office-humor sites people visit when they should be working. The highlight of the site is the series of comedic videos (which are also available on YouTube) starring "Ben Mitchell" (portrayed by actor Ben Spring), a "fifth guy" who is oblivious about his lack of proper hygiene around the office.

In one spot, Ben exits a bathroom then strolls the hallways and visits his grossed-out co-workers while holding a urinal—illustrating that unless you wash your hands, you might leave the restroom, but the restroom won't leave you. Other videos show Ben failing to cover his mouth while coughing and coming into work sick, potentially infecting his co-workers. The videos are not only funny, they're also framed with helpful (and, thankfully, brief) complementary facts.

An "About the flu" section delivers lengthier information about influenza symptoms and preparation, but the copy is conversational and accessible, with links to sections of the Centers for Disease Control website. The site also offers a downloadable "Keep sick @ home" poster so you can spread the word—instead of germs—around your own office.

In terms of an overall branding strategy, the health site does have a hiccup or two: It contains a FLDOH logo, but there's no link to the FLDOH site. Likewise, there's no mention of 5thguy.com on the FLDOH site. (Or on that poster, by the way.)

That aside, the site offers a healthy prescription for communicating a message online: less (copy) is usually more, exploit available web technologies, and a little humor helps the medicine go down.

Which adds up to a site that's not just catchy, but contagious. Now, when was the last time you disinfected that computer keyboard?