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.  

Blowing up condoms like a balloon is an idea as old as the concept of wearing one. Through the history of condom promotion there has been some evolution in strategy however. Promoting 99% protection appeals to safety, adding funny things to the end appeals to pleasure, coating it with a numbing agent appeals to the estimated time of arrival and the list goes on.

Now with the miracles created through advanced graphics (we can thank Pixar for pioneering that) and the creative inspiration of involving animals to make it less pornographic the result is several thousand hits in a few days.

Now that’s one sex out of the way that frankly didn’t need reminding, how do they get The Pill to be as appealing as cocaine to Boston George?

Cheers!