There were so many great viral video hits in 2010 that it’s hard to choose just five. Hope you enjoy the selections (below), and if you have a favorite that isn’t on the list (which is likely) please share the video link with a comment below!
1. OK Go – White Knuckles
OK Go are perhaps the most creative band on the planet today. They have had many viral video hits over the past few months including their newest one, “White Knuckles”. A great use of dogs too, check it out below.
2. BP Spills Coffee
By now you probably know how BP deals with spills. UCB Comedy takes the oil spill story to the boardroom and shows us exactly what would happen if BP executives spilled their coffee, and how well coordinated they work together to clean up the spill. On YouTube the video got over 5.2 million views in just 9 days.
3. Angry Birds Peace Treaty
Are you a big fan of the game Angry Birds like me? When I saw this video I was a bit upset because I wanted to be the first video creator to create a viral Angry Bird video. I had purchased a few Angry Birds plush toys and I just got them this week! Be on the lookout for my Angry Birds Spidvid project later next month, subscribe to the projects feed if you haven’t already to collaborate with me on it. It has the potential to be a viral hit for sure! For now enjoy the peace treaty deal that the Angry Birds and Angry Pigs (sort of) make.
4. Tweet It – iPad vs iPhones (Michael Jackson “Beat It” Spoof)
With the runaway success that Twitter experienced in 2010 it would be wrong not to include a Twitter related video. So, if you like “Beat It” by Michael Jackson, and like Twitter, then you will likely enjoy this spoof called “Tweet It” check it out below.
5. Surprised Kitten
This video is actually from late 2009, but because we didn’t do a 2009 viral video list this video (unofficially) qualifies. Possibly the cutest kitten video ever created, and it now has almost 40 million views! Would love to see what this cat is up to for New Years tonight!
Looking forward to rapidly growing the Spidvid community, developing new collaborative production projects, and promoting videos that deserve more love, views, and attention. Thanks for an amazing 2010, and cheers to a remarkable 2011 to come!
I know it’s hard to believe (sarcasm), but there were a ton of amazing new viral videos released to watch in November. You have likely seen a few of these already, but hopefully a new video can entertain you below. We kick things off with a brave cat video, enjoy. And if you want to create some new viral video entertainment of your own but don’t have the talent to do it, then head over to Spidvid to collaborate and partner up with the talent you need on your team.
1. Cat vs Alligator
If you have a cute cat, chances are that you know he or she isn’t that brave. This is perhaps the bravest cat you will ever see, usually dogs are too intense for the average cat… but an alligator?!
2. Kobe and Kimmel Play Black Ops
We are used to seeing Kobe Bryant firing long 3-point shots in the NBA, but seeing him launch a rocket is much more fun and destructive.
3. Sesame Street: There’s An App For That
A few years ago Apple came out with their “there’s an app for that” ad campaign, and the messaging is still fresh in our minds to this day. If you like apps, Sesame Street, and music then this video is for you!
4. Angry Birds Peace Treaty
Speaking of apps, are you a big fan of the game Angry Birds like me? When I saw this video I was a bit upset because I wanted to be the first video creator to create a viral Angry Bird video. I have purchased a few Angry Birds plush toys and I will be getting them this month! Be on the lookout for my Angry Birds Spidvid project later this month, subscribe to the projects feed if you haven’t already to collaborate with me on it. It has the potential to be a viral hit and end up on our list for January. For now enjoy the peace treaty deal that the Angry Birds and Angry Pigs (sort of) make.
5. World’s Biggest Harry Potter Fan
My girlfriend has read all of the Harry Potter books and is a massive fan, but she can’t touch this guy. If anyone is a bigger Harry Potter fan please create your video and top this current champion.
Be sure to subscribe to our blog for December’s top viral videos, interesting video production posts along the way, and stay on top of new developments within Spidvid’s community as well. Get the Spidvid blog delivered to your inbox, or via RSS.
Today we have a guest blog article by our New York-based Spidvid community manager, Adam Klein. Adam will be writing an interesting article or two each month now going forward. Be sure to stay updated by subscribing to all our new Spidvid posts and articles, either by email or via RSS. Take it away Adam!
As a musician moving from mid-Missouri to Chicago back in 2001, there were several things I noticed right away about the local music scene and about how artists promoted their music. One in particular was that in every local bar and music venue I stumbled into, there were stacks of promo CDs and free mixes from Chicago-based bands, artists and DJs lining the walls along the exits. Promoters would also be crowding the doorway outside the club to greet you with more free CDs to take home, and in some cases, they were the exact same professionally recorded and packaged goods that were selling for $20 a pop in the chain-stores all across the country like Sam Goody, Tower Records, and Virgin Megastore, except with “For Promotional Use Only” stamped across the front. At the time, one of these local bands was OK Go, promoting the release of their 2002 self-titled debut album.
I’d never seen them live, let alone heard their music, but on countless occasions, saw the free promo CDs sitting amongst the piles at nearly every local music spot in Chicago. I picked up a copy or two at some point or another and perhaps listened to a few seconds of each song, but quickly dismissed them as nothing of interest. At the time, I didn’t really give them a chance because it wasn’t what I was into (perhaps it was closed-minded of me, but as a working DJ in several nightclubs around the city, I didn’t have the time or patience to listen to music that didn’t fit my musical agenda on the dancefloor). However, a little more than nine years later, I can honestly say that I’m a huge fan of theirs, and it’s a result from a different kind of promotional tool, their viral videos.
With almost 100 million video views on their YouTube channel, over half of those coming from 2006’s “Here It Goes Again”, this method of promotion has proven to be more effective (and likely less costly) as opposed to their 2001 promo CD-giveaway effort. Just last week they received over 1 million views in under 24 hours for their latest effort, “White Knuckles,” solidly placing them at the forefront of musicians using viral video to gain exposure and earn mainstream success.
Viral video is not only being used as a promotional tool, but also as a tool in musical creation and performance. The perfect example of this is the case of the Gregory Brothers, aka Schmoyoho aka Autotune The News. As a band, they’d been writing and performing long before the conception of Autotune the News. But it wasn’t until Autotune The News, that a larger audience was exposed to the unique quartet stylings of Michael, Andrew, Evan, and Sarah Gregory. Their following on YouTube has grown to over half a million subscribers, who then became the primary fan-base for their music, so when the “Bed Intruder Song” dropped, this community of loyal fans and followers across the Internet came together to help propel it into pop charts on iTunes and onto the Billboard Hot 100. The original video currently has over 27 million views on YouTube in less than 2 months time.
While the Gregory Brothers’ music utilizes original songs with remixed audio and video to create new songs and videos, the instrumentals often seem campy and quickly thrown together, almost sounding like a self-mockery in that they want us to believe that their music is all in the spirit of fun and goofiness (while they’re actually making serious statements on the true comedy of politics). However, there are some lesser-known, equally-exceptional musicians who’ve been using video for a while to create entire albums and perform live in front of thousands of people. Two such artists are Israeli-born Kutiman, and San Francisco’s DJ Mike Relm.
Kutiman is easily one of the most talented producers/remixers making music and videos today. Click play on the video below and you will begin to understand why.
His 2009 music video project, ThruYOU, was created by remixing online videos from dozens of instrumentalists into original audio and video compositions. As a musician myself, seeing it for the first time was an emotional experience, that someone could be so innovative, not only musically, but visually as well. The project was viewed over 1 million times in the first week, and has lead to this recent audio/video remix collaboration with Maroon 5.
Another viral video success story is that of DJ Mike Relm, who’s live shows use a mash-up of classic original productions, remixes, films and videos to create a one-of-a-kind audio and visual experience. Check out this performance from YouTube’s 2008 Live event.
Mike Relm’s innovative and captivating live shows have lead to a series of awesome tour opportunities and collaborations and music festival performances, as is documented in this hour-long video of Mike Relm’s Clown Alley, filmed in 2007-2008, featuring his groundbreaking video turntablist performance from his tour with Blue Man Group, as well as Coachella and Winter X-Games via radiofriedfilms.
By observing how these four artists, each in their own unique way have harnessed the power of online video to create innovative new art-forms and communication channels for increased exposure, we can only guess who the next great innovator will be or what their music will sound like. So, my friends, musicians and video creators of the Spidvid community, will you be next?Post up your music video project and get started on the next big success story today!
It seems like with each passing month it brings with it more and more interesting viral videos. We have posted our five favorite viral videos below for September. Feel free to add yours below in the comments with a video link, or hit us up on Twitter, or Facebook.
1. The 200 yard golf gong shot
These golfers are masters of ball control. Watch below as they try to hit a 9″ gong 200 yards away by skipping their balls across a lake. Incredible, even Tiger Woods himself would be impressed!
2. OK Go – White Knuckles
OK Go are perhaps the most creative band on the planet today. They have had many viral video hits over the past few months including their newest one, “White Knuckles”. A great use of dogs too, check it out below.
3. Herding Cats
Our viral video list wouldn’t be complete without a cute animal one. Ikea brought in 100 cats and released them throughout one of their stores in the UK. Watch as the cats hang out with each other, get silly and wild, and of course take cat naps.
4. Future of Screen Technology
If you think you already have too many video screens in your house, office, and in your hand you haven’t seen anything yet. Check out what could be the future of screens within our lives. This is both remarkable and scary at the same time.
5. 2 Guys 600 Pillows
This video is all backwards which is a pretty interesting concept, and fun to watch. If you are sleepy right now you may want to avoid watching this video as you may search out your own comfy pillow and need a nap. Office workers you’ve been warned!
Be sure to subscribe to our blog for October’s top viral videos, interesting video production posts along the way, and stay on top of new developments within Spidvid’s community as well. Get the Spidvid blog delivered to your inbox, or via RSS.
As the incredible summer of 2010 nears its end, many of you wonderful people reading this may have missed some remarkable online videos in August. We have done our best to entertain and amaze you with five videos sure to make your summer a little bit cooler. If you missed July’s viral videos, be sure to check them out too.
1. The YouTube Movie
Next month “The Social Network” movie based on Facebook’s massive success, will hit theaters across the world. There have been a few good “mocumentaries” created since, including YouTube’s as featured below, and Twitter’s which can be seen here.
2. The Heineken Tube
Who doesn’t love kicking back in the hot summer with a nice cold beer?! Heineken captured this experience exceptionally well with their beer travelling through a house in a special tube to deliver the beverage. Fun warning: watching this video may make you crave a beer and BBQ, so don’t be afraid to give into your temptations!
3. Roger Federer’s Trick Shot
With the US Open in full swing in New York, tennis superstar Roger Federer did a couple trick shots that you won’t see on the court. This video now has over 6 million views in just over two weeks, incredible!
4. The Upside Down Artist
Have you ever been walking down the street, saw some sort of remarkable act happening and just had to stop and watch? More specifically, have you ever seen an artist draw detailed symmetrical pictures upside down? Didn’t think so, watch the video below to bring out your creativity.
5. Slinky Cat
Cats can be so silly sometimes, and viewers really love seeing funny cat videos, so we had to share one here today. This video only has about 31,000 views to date so it’s not a true viral hit just yet, but like Double Rainbow’s slow start, this one could pick up steam eventually.
Be sure to subscribe to our blog for September’s top viral videos, interesting video production posts along the way, and stay on top of new developments within Spidvid’s community as well. Get the Spidvid blog delivered to your inbox, or via RSS.
