Heineken pulled off a viral stunt in Italy recently that’s been making the Internet rounds. On the night of the biggest soccer match of the season, the company staged a classical music concert and enlisted hundreds of bosses, professors and girlfriends (come si dice “whipped” in italiano?) to force thousands of men to attend. Luckily, the soccer fans were in for a pleasant surprise…

—Alyssa

I don’t know how I missed this viral ad from Samsung, but it is one of the best ones I have ever seen and I’m so jealous I didn’t think of it. Tapping into our cultural obsession with cuteness, the video shows various adorable baby animals and how they creatively use the Samsung Ultratouch cellphone (hint: not as an actual phone). This ad combines two of my favorite things: cute animals and miniature dioramas. What could be better?

—Alyssa

So, you want to “go viral?”  I get where you’re coming from – the ROI is insane.

The only question is: what goes in the witch’s cauldron for viral potion? Sheep’s blood, hen’s feet…and what was the other ingredient? Many alchemists have tried, most have failed. You see, they forgot the secret ingredient: butt-catching!

As part of a new promotion for computer manufacturer MSI’s new series of ultra-thin laptops, they’ve posted a video of a man catching a laptop with his buttocks.  Not only does he catch the laptop, but he does so in the most improbable of acrobatic positions.

On YouTube, the video currently has about 750,000 views, 2,600 ratings, and 1,900 comments. We’ll see what that’s up to by tomorrow at this time.

If you want to go viral, don’t forget the secret ingredient – something insanely funny.

-Tom

The video above features the President of Domino’s USA responding to a PR crisis that erupted this week after two Domino’s employees posted an online video of them tampering with food in, um…pretty gross ways.

While the original video is fodder enough for controversy, what’s really fascinating (and frightening) is how social media sites like YouTube can quite literally deface a company as large as Domino’s in a matter of hours. That localized stunts can be broadcast internationally with the quick click of a button means that crisis communications is a whole new beast in the digital age—the Domino’s video has been viewed over one million times, and discussions have been very lively on forums like Twitter.

Domino’s is getting high praise, however, for its response to crisis: a YouTube response and the formation of a twitter handle, @dpzinfo, to address customer concerns. By communicating with customers through the very same medium that so easily soiled its reputation, Domino’s has proven its moxy and social media dexterity. Unfortunately, this incident will forever be a cautionary tale for other companies.

-Elise

“Going viral” is the holy grail of any online campaign. However, as various social media experts (for lack of a better term) have mentioned, it’s impossible to guarantee that something will become a viral phenomenon. In fact, almost all of the best viral videos on the Internet are total sleeper hits that no one ever dreamed would become popular. The newest Web sensation “Kittens Inspired by Kittens” is a perfect example — this adorable and hilarious video has over 2 million views on YouTube, but came from humble origins, which the video’s star’s mom explained on her blog:

Al and Maddie made a video last summer when we were up at a cabin in Northern Minnesota. Maddie found an old book in the library at the lodge and she had such funny things to say about the pictures, Al filmed it. We showed it to our friends and family this summer, and thought nothing more about it. Last week, Al put the link on his Facebook page and all of a sudden,  Maddie is all over the internet and TV….We are just cracking up and can’t believe it….Now my favorite offer so far is an off-off broadway director in New York who watched all of Max and Maddie’s videos and wants to talk about collaborating on a script with them. I can’t even get them to collaborate on cleaning the basement, so good luck with that.

It just goes to show that “viral” just doesn’t have a formula. However, if you film your kids being cute and post it on the Internet, you’ve got a pretty good shot.

—Alyssa

Friday Fun: David After Dentist

I’ll admit, I’m partially writing on this topic because I’ve been DYING to post this video.  I mean, come on, it was on last week’s The Soup!

But, I digress.

The Foush: Adventures of a New Media Maverick took this incredibly hilarious video as an opportunity to discuss ways that we interact with video.  Rahaf breaks it down into the 5 R’s, which include Reposting, Remixing, Re-Enacting, Reacting and Reinventing.  Definitely an interesting concept (not to mention she posts “David After Dentist” examples…I really can’t get enough of this stuff).  I think that her categorization is pretty perceptive and that these concepts may be important to consider when incorporating viral video elements into campaigns.

On a side note: I bet that poor David will be asking, “Why is this happening to me?” for a long time to come, now that his awkward dentist drug-induced haze lives permanently on the Internet for the world to see.  Thanks a lot, Dad!

-Andrea

Everybody, let me introduce you to Songsmith, a new software from Microsoft that allows you to spontaneously produce music on par with that of the Pussycat Dolls. This video that Microsoft put together is, in a word, BRILLIANT.  I think it is an homage to the overacted infomercials of yesteryear – a stark contrast to current viral videos.  I think it will really generate a lot of chatter and I, for one, want to be an early adopter.  So, I’ve blogged my thoughts about this masterpiece in realtime below:

:04 Songtastic is intended for anyone who has ever sung in the shower? I wonder how many fatalities there will be as a result of people composing music on their laptop in the shower.

:15 That girl is totally thinking, “I’m going to use this software to start writing and distributing my own music because my father is clearly terrible at his job.”

:17 Glow-in-the-dark towels, BAZING!

:30 If this guy really doesn’t know what his daughter is doing, why does he answer in song?  I can only imagine that this family routinely converses in melody.

:33 “I’ve never heard you sing.”  Actually, the way the guy sings this is brilliant.  He sounds like a lovelorn prince in a Disney movie: “Jasmanenica, I’ve never heard you sing…not since you touched that magical doorknob.”

:42 “It’s the cool new thing.”  That’s how kids talk these days, right?

:55 Please note she is using a Mac, emblazoned with Lisa Frank-esque stickers.  Still a Mac though.  In a Microsoft ad.

1:02 My dad is a failure.

1:09 I wonder if she sing-explains all routine things to him. “And theeeen you put the coffee into this paper fiiil-ter.”

1:15 Yeah, keep nodding your head like you do when you listen to Kenny G in your Chrysler LeBaron.

1:36 Did not see that coming.  I wonder if this impromptu kitchen laptop mugging has anything to do with those glow-in-the-dark towels he was pondering earlier.

1:42 Where is the best place to sing soulful songs about linens to my laptop?  Probably at a public coffee shop.

1:59 If I had a dime for every time I met a stranger with a penchant for expository dialogue at a coffee shop while writing original jingles…

2:14 “Songsmith, huh?”  This guy is just like me.  Everytime I’m about to work on something:  “PowerPoint, huh?”  “Word, huh?”

2:16 THIS IS THE BEST PART!  His songs are stale and not that jazzy, so he really bumps up the happy and jazzy factor with Songsmith!  No more bone-crushingly depressing songs with this program!

2:20 Too jazzy. No, not jazzy enough. Too jazzy. Ahhh, perfect amount of jazzy.

2:25 Excuse me, did anybody else notice that this guy’s new, not-stale song has been plagiarized from an Elton John classic?  Not cool and certainly not jazzy.

2:40 “Help me find a way to move my groove on.”  I can’t really improve on that, so I’m just going to move on.

2:46 “Songsmith, you can be my #1.”  Sorry sir, I think Prop 8 made it illegal to marry a computer program.

2:52 Ahh, finally we meet the antagonist, Mr. Old-Fashioned Marketing Speak.  “Let’s get these numbers into the idea generator…”

2:56 I see through you, now let’s hear from this guy who appears to be using a tween girl’s computer that probably has a picture of Zac Efron on the background.

3:01 You have no idea what you are in for.  This is probably how Gutenberg’s colleagues felt before he unveiled the printing press.

3:06 [Redacted]

3:10 Acting is reacting.

3:18 Why do these people not have lights in their homes?  Is getting a towel this difficult?

3:23 Brava! I hope this lady will write a letter of recommendation to the committee that votes on Grammys for mid-level professionals.

3:27 Yes, you can bow at my feet.

3:32 I think they dubbed over the original lyrics here:  “I’m stuck in a loveless marriage to you and it drives me nuts that you dress like Regis Philbin on an old episode of Millionaire.”

3:46 “And also thanks to Songsmith…” This was a very clever device allowing the actors to incorporate the product name again.

3:49 “Singin’.” I can only assume this is a pop culture reference to Sarah Palin.  OMG, how do you think we can get a Songsmith in the hands of Sarah Palin?

3:52 Also, now that this guy has landed that big glow-in-the-dark towel account, do you think he’ll be able to afford a new shirt and tie combination?

3:55 Get ready to bring. It. Home.

3:59 Every word in rhyme?  I hope these people don’t like oranges.

I love you Songsmith video.

— Andrew