For marketers and agencies coming up with an ad campaign, the use of a social network is becoming as de rigueur as the creation of a 30-second spot or a billboard. So far, the typical approach marketers take to social nets is having a page on MySpace—as in the case of Coca-Cola this past summer—and in use of the various, if increasingly, controversial, ad targeting offered by both that Fox Interactive unit and rival Facebook.

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But instead of relying solely an established online community, many marketers are increasingly setting up their own branded social nets as part of their larger ad campaigns. As a NYT piece points out, some recent examples include Jockey, which earlier this month set up a promotional site seeking user-generated videos. And Dove has extended its Real Beauty campaign into a site connecting women around self-esteem issues. And, as we noted earlier this week, NBC and Procter & Gamble have recently teamed up to create a social net aimed at pet owners called PetSide.com.

This week, the Times writes that Campbell Soup’s Pepperidge Farm is getting into the act with a site called ArtOfTheCookie, which is related to a campaign whose theme is called “Connections.” The site is positioned as platform for female consumers to discuss ways of improving their friendships. The site is considered a key part of Pepperidge Farm’s estimated $2- to $3 million ad campaign.

The use of social networks is expected to grow substantially over the next few years, as a recent eMarketer article noted that more than one-third of internet users surveyed say they “highly trusted” information from contacts in their social networks.