What do great viral videos have in common?

Reading “What do great viral videos have in common?” It says they all great viral videos make you:

  • Connect with you personally, and
  • Want to share them with friends

No duh on the last one. That’s viral, isn’t it?

What this article is talking about is great viral brand videos. Not just great viral videos. Their analysis associates something (e.g. ease of use, overcoming of fears with the E-trade baby) with a brand. Great viral brand videos leave a positive association in your mind with that brand.

(Naturally this doesn’t apply to, say the classic Evolution of Dance. Which is just plain fun and funny and a video you are happy to watch more than once. )

What do all these successful brand viral videos have in common in their approach to content?

They are a little racy (babies looking at the girl’s backside and saying “shit”?) in the baby eTrade video.

They are funny and have a “how did they do that” component in Samsung’s LED video. This one also has a somewhat tenuous link to Samsung itself. I wonder if anyone will remember the Samsung LED connection? But I love the Welsh accents and the participants have a cool nerd factor.

Another one from over the pond: the Cadbury’s Eyebrow video. This one has the cute kids, as well as the “how did they do that” component. And it’s particularly fun for those of us who can only cock one eyebrow, not two. (I can only wiggle one ear too. Call me inept.)

And here’s a great one that makes you wonder how many of the people involved were shills, and how many were really dancing on the spur of the moment. The “life is sharing” message comes on quietly, and the theme is super fun in T-Mobile’s dance video on Liverpool Street Station in London.