Catch Up Lady

Creating a Viral Video: MoveOn.org's Personalized Video

The blogosphere is all abuzz these days about MoveOn.org's personalized video where your name (or the name of a friend) is actually inserted into a news reel in which it is discovered that Obama's one vote loss on November 4th could be traced back to YOU - a single apathetic voter. 

And behold - a viral video!  According to the ticker on MoveOn.org, the video has been sent to over 6 million people. One day I'm going to go blue in the face and die explaining the strategy behind the development and promotion of a truly noteworthy and shareable video. This video works because it's the Purple Cow - it's relevant, it's new, it's remarkable, it's well promoted, and there is a built in "care to share" factor that encourages people to pass it along (hell, I even sent it to myself!) 

I love the social media that's come out of the election - from the GOP Vetting Emporium and Taco Stand to the It's Raining McCain Ladies.  The national spotlight on a common issue combined with the Web 2.0 technology readily available to every freakazoid in the country has given people a way to amplify their voice (for good or for bad) in a meaningful way.  Now if only we could come up with a "viral video" to make DC a state...

Talk To Your Parents About John McCain

OK, irrespective of your political affiliation I think that this ad from MoveOn.org is pretty hilarious.  Sure conservatives will waste no time denouncing it "MoveOn is for flaming libs!  Who cares what the stars of that brain dead show Gossip Girl have to say!"  But seriously, it is in fact hilarious if for nothing more than its spot on satire of every tragic anti-drug commercial I was forced to watch growing up in the 80s/90s. ("I learned it from you Dad!  I learned it from watching you!!"  )

Via Make The Logo Bigger.

Sarah Palin Presidency Actually IS a Bad Disney Movie

Example #2348b of how social media and Web 2.0 have changed this election. 

Not only can we instantly watch, share and comment on clips - like this one of Matt Damon equating a potential Sarah Palin presidency to a "bad Disney movie" - but we can have amazing, high quality spoofs in a matter of days. 

GOP Vetting Emporioum and Taco Stand

This is hilarious.  Crazy Eddie, wherever he is, would be proud.

 "Next to the Dunkin Donuts in the Mill Street Mall..If you go past the Applebee's you've gone too far!" 

MSNBC Goes Into Belly of the Cheetos Eating Beast

You've got to love this clip from MSNBC's Morning Joe, where they send an operative into the new media lounge at the DNC in an attempt to prove (or disprove) the myth that all bloggers are Cheeto-eating, Dungeons and Dragons playing weirdos who live in their moms' basements.

BECAUSE MSNBC IS RUN BY IDIOTS, YOU'LL HAVE TO CLICK HERE TO SEE THE VIDEO, AS  THEY'VE DISABLED THE EMBED CODE.  (LEST THESE CRAZY BLOGGERS OF WHICH WE SPEAK GET THEIR HANDS ON THIS COPYRIGHTED CONTENT.)

The video reveals some shocking truths.  Like most bloggers don't eat Cheetos (or Funions)  while they blog!  No one they could find currently plays Dungeons and Dragons! And, this will come as a real stunner - some bloggers are actually home owners!  In fact, MSNBC reports that most bloggers "Blog above the basement level.  Like on a second story floor, where the light comes in."

But, this being a room full of hundreds of bloggers, MSNBC did manage to find some freak in a cow print outfit who does eat cheetos while blogging, occasionally lives in his mothers basement and collects Star Wars action figures.  Bloggers, gotta love em.

The Brand of Obama: The Barack Obama Roll

This is why he has to win. 

Obama has become a worldwide brand.  He's gone beyond lawn signs and stickers. He's on tshirts, purses, mugs... pretty much anything you can imagine.  And by HIM I mean HIS FACE, not like the campaign slogan.  Old people, young people, black, white, kids, moms, and everyone in between.  This, obviously, is like the billionth video created in his honor to go viral.

(Side bar: I met people in China that thought he was already President, and had no idea who this "John McCain" person was.)

London 2012 Already On the Social Media Bandwagon

(File under: I can't just stop posting about the Olympics cold turkey.)

Well, that didn't take long.  In my Wrap Up post on the Lenovo Voices of the Olympic Games project I noted that everyone from sponsors, to sports federations, to country OC's, to bid cities, to your mom was going to start building social media into Olympic campaigns of the future.

From my friend across the pond (who works for the London 2012 communications agency) I have learned that London has wasted absolutely no time using social media to start creating excitement and anticipation for the 2012 Games.  In advance of the Handoff Ceremony last Sunday this video was posted to the London 2012 YouTube Channel.  (That's right, there is a channel!  It was created *two years ago* and it's optimized within an inch of its life.  It already has nearly 1000 subscribers.)

The video encourages people to submit their own celebration photos, which are being collected and displayed in UK-shaped mash ups.  This strategy is a great way to get the Brits pumped about the Games, and sends a strong message that London is not going to stand by and get shown up by the spectacular show that Beijing just wrapped up.  

Vancouver 2010 has some serious catching up to do if it hopes to match London 2012's user friendly interface, prominent use of engaging social media tactics, YouTube channel, blog, and more.

Triumph Takes On Spin Alley

Just because I'm already so freaking sick of election gossip and drama.  This is pretty much the only good thing to come out of the 2004 Presidential Election.

"Show Me a Viral Video, And I'll Show You 5 Superior Spoofs"

A wise man once told me that.  Ok, total lie.  Either way there is no denying the rise of spoof videos created in homage to viral sensations.  The question now becomes, are these spoofs superseding the originals?  In many cases the spoof videos require more intelligence, humor and talent to pull off as they must cleverly mock an original that was often times an accident or blooper caught on camera. 

Much like the internets itself, examples of the original - parody relationship are vast and infinite. Here is the most recently hilarious example I could dig up:

ORIGINAL: Zombie Kid Likes Turtles (4.4 million views)

SPOOF 1: Yes We Can Take Off

SPOOF 2: I Like Turtles - The After Years

There are literally over a dozen spoofs of this video - some, like the Bill O'Reilly Interviews I Like Turtles Kid, have hundreds of thousands of views.  (The O'Reilly Interview is the most popular spoof with over 1.1 million views.)

It was only a matter of time before some smart brand harnessed this consumer generated genius (I'm using the word "genius" really loosely here, fyi.)  This week, Cadbury launched a site featuring consumer created spoof videos of their Gorilla Playing Phil Collins on Drums spot, which went viral last year.  Bill from Make the Logo Bigger said it best in his post Brand Paying Attention? Say It Ain't So, "They may be the first major brand I can think of that didn’t just watch YouTube nation take control of where their spot went. Instead, they gathered all the best clips into one location: brand releases video, fans mash it up, brand says thanks."  Pretty cool.

Of course, brands need a truly viral video to leverage if they're going to take advantage of spoofs. And that my friends, remains an enigma for most.   

Move Over Rick - The Tay Zonday Roll

No. Words.