David Poulshock of Red Door Films was guest speaker at the Women In Business monthly lunch yesterday.  First, let me just digress a moment to say that Donna and Truman Rew have done a wonderful job on their new space, the Artisan, in Ilwaco.  Check it out!

It was a pleasure to hear what David is up to and his creative ideas for a viral video marketing campaign that would benefit our Peninsula community.  More on that another time.  For now, savor these viral videos David noted and ponder how amateur video could feed traffic back to your own business website.  As David noted, there are some common themes here:  a compelling story, humor, and enough surprise to keep you hooked to the end.

So, grab a bag of micro-popcorn and a cuppa.  Here we go:

Super Chameleon.  Of course it’s fake; chameleons don’t change that quickly.  But it has outstanding product placement for RayBan, without coming off like an ad. 
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMT1FLzEn9I[/youtube]
The FaceBook page is there for you once you’re hooked:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ray-Ban-NEVER-HIDE-FILMS/41511152217

The Pomegranate Phone.  You know you want one.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K05mi7G3jIk[/youtube]
LA Times did a nice article on this $300,000 expenditure on the part of Nova Scotia Tourism. “The month-old website — created entirely by Nova Scotian citizens, right down to where the website host server is located — has received nearly 150,000 hits, with a majority of visitors also clicking through to the Nova Scotian government website. The campaign says it is pleased with the results so far and expects popularity to snowball in the future. “The great thing about a viral campaign like this one is that it has a long shelf life!” Jones-Oxner wrote.”

The Cadbury Eyebrows.  It’s funny.  You want to forward it to someone.  You don’t think of it as an ad but there’s no mistake that the girl’s dress is Cadbury purple.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVblWq3tDwY[/youtube]

You Suck At Photoshop.  This one has some language and irreverent humor so skip it if that sort of thing offends you.  It’s reportedly won video awards and been in national magazines.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_X5uR7VC4M[/youtube]

John West Seafood has been doing funny ads forever.  They seem to have gone viral with the commercial everyone seems to have seen, Bear vs. Man
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FARnbRBWKGg[/youtube]

Bear vs. Man, take 2
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BBzpLEjAr8[/youtube]

Tuna to go
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwiSJ5SKE8[/youtube]

Tuna Catch
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkwhAuptm08[/youtube]

Paddling Fresh Fish
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6b4Z1EZvFwg[/youtube]

Fish for Kids
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HOwiSJ5SKE8[/youtube]

The Battle at Kruger.  A word of warning here;  the video is fairly graphic.  Hang in there; I don’t want to ruin the story but suffice to say the plot takes a significant turn about half way through.  Notice how much advertising there is on the page compared to the other YouTube videos you’ve seen here.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LU8DDYz68kM[/youtube]

Chocolate Rain.  First, this talented kid does a low-budget, internet recording:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTZ2xpQwpA[/youtube]
It picks up steam on YouTube and now he’s doing high-budget video and being paid very well:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2×2W12A8Qow[/youtube]

Schick Quattro “Mow The Lawn”.  You can get away with so much more online…and that’s why it goes viral.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MvFSgXpyhoM[/youtube]

Extreme Sheep LED Art. Yes, it’s real.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2FX9rviEhw[/youtube]

Thanks for those, David!

Want more?  Here’s David’s full list:  viral videos webisodes.doc