Viral Videos have added a new weapon to the marketers arsonal.  Agencies and production companies alike boast their portfolios of online content.  But how can an organization say they specialize in Viral Video production?  Arguably there isn’t an ironclad formula for making videos that, for a host of reasons, ends up breaking a million views.  It might even be considered arrogant to say you or your company can make Viral Videos.  Many videos high at the top of the charts aren’t business related at all (hahaha for example).  

In the attempt to map out the dimensions of these media gems the Viral Catalog has been broken into categories.  Flushing out these categories should help find similar patterns of success.  So next time you come across a video that’s destined for greatness see where it fits in and submit it.  

Real

The Real category contains videos that gained their popularity because the attractive features of the content come from deep within the subject(s) on camera.  The people live their lives the way the video portrays them. 

Slapstick

Think Charlie Chaplin – Three Stooges 
or visit Wikipedia.

Animal

If you are reading this blog and you don’t know
what the animal category might consist of…/Pity 

Kids

/Pity 2x

Uniquely Creative

This category shows off videos that truly stand out.  
The producers of these clips need sheer determination or they have invested a lot of time, maybe both.  Many of these videos are clever showing something common from a different perspective.     

Shock & Awe

Videos belonging to this group will leave the majority of viewers with big eyes and hanging jaws. 

Commercial

Anything to promote a product or service.  

Music & Dance

Music and Dance needs to be considered in a league of their own because they dominate the online world. This category has a higher bar of entry and has an increasingly large gray area as more mash ups go viral.  

At a closer inspection of this video it’s not to hard to see the elements that would make people laugh.  Looking back at the popular categories from The Evolving Elements of Popularity you could see elements of unique creativity produced via the animation.  You could also file the video under comedy because of the satire but we will have to leave it off the list until it can be called viral.  If you were to dissect this video try viewing it through the lens of both a male and female viewers.  

Males, who are stereotypically the internet enthusiasts, would find all the jabs at women about their menstrual cycle and their supposed smaller brain intriguing.  As a male watching this you might feel slightly devious as you wonder if the video is going to get away with bashing women for a solid two minutes.  But alas the twist comes and the message revealed to raise what’s sure to be mixed emotions for men.  They realize what had kept them staring at the screen abruptly does a 180 and satire is there to provide the slap. 

For women the viewing experience is undoubtedly different.  Coming from the other side of the fence the jabs may seem harsh or corky depending on your level of seriousness.   All in all you need to stay for the end if you don’t want to think the internet is just a place for uploading overblown myths that have been gathered together over the centuries. 

The video is undoubtedly funny but with little to no distribution pushing it deep into the www will it have legs?  For Nike’s sake, considering this is a philanthropic effort; let’s hope it can gather speed.  The web does not operate on a “build it and they will come” model. 

The video needs a fan base.  Take I Met The Walrus for example.  The animation styles are similar and B.S throws in a decent amount of humor but John Lennon was a Beatle and the interview is one of a kind, that’s what generates its million plus view status.       

Cheers