I’ve been on the search for viral formula for some time and think I’ve got some way to it. If you look at Time’s 50 Best YouTube Videos, then there’s some criteria within content that can lead to virality:
- Cute
- Funny
- Musical
- Technology focus
Now there’s also the ‘extraordinary conclusion to mundane events‘ but one more addition – animals.
Animals and babies are the biggest stars on the Internet. Getting them doing every day things in an extraordinary manner is one path to viral gold. So I thought about it, and then reckoned being in the animal business would be a marketing dream. Think of being in the marketing department of Whiskas - those guys spend a ton on TV. How much would it take to reach the same number of people online – albeit with a different message?
Cats are the main stars of course. Even if you don’t like cat videos, then it’s still difficult not to like this genius piece of commentary:
Animal has problem with technology = viral gold
Add an Apple product in the mix and it gets even bigger. Cat with an iPad is always a good one, but in this particular video not much really happens. It’s just a cat looking at a screen. But this one, of an African Bullfrog licking ants on an iPhone, has a brilliant conclusion. I particularly love the way the frog’s little arms wave around and the little shriek:
Next up, the biggest viral of 2011 was a dog being teased by a guy about food. Granted, this commentary is quite brilliantly timed, but having watched this I really don’t think it would be that hard to come up with original ideas involving animals:
FYI – a colleague at work said to me upon watching this, in all seriousness, ‘that’s not real, dogs don’t sound like that.’ Amazing!
What I can’t understand about all of this is that no companies have noticeably got on the bandwagon. Presumably their marketing departments are fixated with budgets and purchasing media space because that’s always been the way, because it beggars belief as to why this trend is passing them by.
So I thought, maybe it’s my calling. Set up a marketing agency that only deals with animal videos for clients. Shame it’s already been done:
