In this customize-and-personalize arena, advertising still falls into a few categories. Once you get it off that rack, though, you really have to go at it to make it your own. Universal icons have their appeal - but only if delivered the right way.
The Millennial generation is more communal than their predecessors, hence fertile grounds for spreading. The little Obama engine that could, did it with its universal message delivered successfully to this digital confederate, who, in turn, with its viral voracity “rocked the vote.” These are the mobile audiences as opposed to all others who still need walkers. Gen-Xers, for example, may be tech-savvy but are considered more cynical and are not joiners. Gen-Y has too many subcultures that defy viral blanketing. Boomers with their sense of entitlement will try anything that appeals to their individual needs. Into this mix, throw in the gender and race/ethnicity factors, and you have a convoluted conundrum. Bottom line, the success of a well-planned viral campaign depends on how vested the audience is in the original message and how it is delivered to them.
However disparate these demographics might be, the medium and format dictates certain techniques. All the viral videos making the rounds can still be pegged under certain broad categories. I have categorized some popular campaigns to give you an idea. The categories are self-explanatory. You can follow the links of the campaigns below and refer to the category-campagin table to see in what category a particular viral spot falls under. Please suggest other categories that you think can be added.
This table lists some of the more popular viral video campaigns along with their appeal/technique.
Links to 27 of the best (bar one!) viral campaigns of the last two years that I have researched for this blog:
- Dove (evolution)
- CNBC (election)
- Canon (guitar)
- Nike (soccer)
- McNuggets (rap)
- Mega Bang Ultra Stamina
- Transport for London (awareness)
- Cadbury (gorilla)
- Smirnoff (green tea partay)
- Ray-Ban (catch)
- Axe/Lynx (bom chicka)
- Office Max (elf)
- Snickers (get some nuts)
- Anheuser Busch (wassap)
- Ford (phone game)
- Sarah Silverman (Matt Damon)
- Career Builder (Monk-e-mail)
- Blendtec (will it blend?)
- Dole fruit (dole baby)
- Wilkinson (fight for kisses)
- SNL (Tina Fey/Sarah Palin)
- Mentos/Carlsberg (experiment)
- Cannes Lions (big idea)
- Meet the Spartans (Carmen)
- Quicksilver (dynamite surfing)
- Batman (darknight) - needs to be downloaded
- Obama (Black Eyed Peas)
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