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Viral Videos

Viral marketing company The Viral Factory has estimated the top ten most popular viral videos from YouTube.com number of views data. Viral videos are video clips that spread quickly through the internet by email, IM, blogs, and media sharing site such as youtube.com.

Most Popular

The most popular internet video was of “The Star Wars Kid” who recorded himself swinging a golf ball retriever at his high school in Canada. The second most popular video, “Numa Numa”, features a teen lip-syncing a Romanian pop song. A video of Kylie Minogue promoting lingerie firm Agent Provacateur was the most watched viral ad.

Viral Video Commercials

Three of the top viral videos are advertisements. While the European Union debates banning viral commercials their popularity is currently increasing. Viral videos combine wit, humour, and creativity to grab the world’s attention. It is a classic case of survival of the fittest, uninteresting ads fall by the wayside while successful viral ads grow at exponential rates before peaking. For a company low on money but high on creativity viral videos are an ideal medium to spread their message.

Viral Anti-Ads

There is a flip-side to viral ads. It is just as easy for disgruntled customers or employees to make viral videos critical of a company. These viral videos can have severe negative effects for a firm’s brand image.

Top Ten Viral Ads (views)

1. Star Wars Kid (900m)
2. Numa Numa (700m)
3. One Night In Paris (400m)
4. Kylie Minogue for Agent Provocateur (360m)
5. The Exploding Whale (350m)
6. John West Salmon Bear Fight (300m)
7. Trojan Games (300m)
8. Kolla2001 (200m)
9. AfroNinja (80m)
10. The Shining Redux (50m)