3 Incidental Viral Campaigns that proves why Viral Marketing Sells

Posted byJason YahPosted inUncategorized

Harlem Shake, Pokemon GO, McDonald’s Nasi Lemak Burger, sounds familiar, don’t they?

In this post we are going to look at some of the few unique ideas that were able to sell, despite being irrational and sometimes, foolish. Why do some get ideas get people talking, or rather, moving?

1. ALS Ice Bucket Challenge

Do you remember the iconic period where you get to see videos of your favourite celebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Will Smith, Lady Gaga, holding a bucket of ice water and then dunking it on themselves? Exciting right!!

But the underlying rationale behind this Ice Bucket Challenge craze serves a more meaningful purpose than you think (it’s not always about fun, my dear).

The ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was created to raise money and awareness to fund the research and medical efforts towards a disease – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or more commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a degenerative illness that causes the loss of muscle control, and ice water stimulates an experience of muscle stiffness that relates to how ALS patients feel.

Well, now you know! For more information or to donate, please visit the ALS Association website

2. Old Spice

Ahh…The good ol’ Terry Crew features… Do you think this advertisement makes sense? Or does it resonate with the brand Old Spice?

The ad agency responsible for this project saw the window of opportunity – a new level of interaction where people can be part of the creative process, that could possibly provide a glimpse into the future of advertising.

Interesting? Indeed.

Old Spice has consistently been very creative with their marketing efforts, this is yet another viral video of theirs, where you can create your own “Muscle Music”.

*Editors Note: I would be really excited to share with you this interactive feature that the ad offers on Vimeo but unfortunately, the feature has been removed. (Aw man!)

3. Dollar Shave Club

Wow.

Short, sweet, impactful. What’s more to say?

Dollar Shave Club’s Founder, Michael Dubin came up with an intriguing idea to use humor as an approach to their debut video, which went… really f**king great. What seemed like an impromptu, effortless short video was in fact, a highly planned effort.

So, here’s the golden question. Why does Viral Marketing Sell?

Stick with me to the next page, and lets do a quick go-through of Viral Marketing Theories by Jonah Berger and Malcolm Gladwell, I promise a fulfilling knowledge you will learn at the end of the day! (psst I might even throw in a gift or two for you at the end of the post!)

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Published by Jason Yah

Occasional Writer, Occasional Singer, Occasional Lazer, just a simple human being living a simple life!

26 thoughts on “3 Incidental Viral Campaigns that proves why Viral Marketing Sells”

    1. All three scenarios were able to ride on the social media aspect hence was easier to become viral. No doubt creativity and standing out against the noise will get you noticed!

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      1. That is very true! Social media might probably be one of the best complements for viral marketing! Brands should also realize that regardless, they still require some form of novelty and creativity towards delivering their marketing content out to bring out the best potential their campaign can do! Well, thats another topic for another day! Subscribe to my newsletter so you don’t miss out!

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    2. Thank you for reading up! Hope you enjoyed the content that i post! Keep yourself updated to more of such contents coming up by subscribing to the newsletter! 🙂

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  7. A very detailed analysis of how campaigns prove viral marketing sells. It is easy to read and very informative on how marketing campaign works. The author highlights the topic sentence to introduce the main points before further elaborates on it. This allows the reader to grasp the author’s intention easily allowing reader to understand how marketing campaign works. Hence, in conclusion, this report investigates how marketing campaign works are well explained which aids the overall clarity for the reader.

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    1. Thank you for your honest feedback! You completely understood my intentions to bring marketing contents across in a fun and interesting way! 🙂 Stay tune for more! 🙂

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  8. omg I agree with you! With Old Spice, the use of media mix such as social media and television enabled it to gain a wide audience reach. Coupled with the creativity and humour, as well as the famous Old Spice Man, it certainly appealed to the audience and ultimately went viral.
    Old Spice also kept the campaign going, by going one step further. Within the span of 24 hours, the Old Spice man responded to selected tweets with Youtube videos. The act of personalising the responses made their target audience feel special, and even appreciated, as most respondents and tweeters were definitely not expecting a response by a huge company, back in the days.
    I believe this was another reason why Old Spice’s marketing remains as one of the most memorable, entertaining and engaging.

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    1. Indeed! If we were to completely remove marketing for Old Spice, it might just be a simple, unnoticed, antiperspirant, deodorant or shampoo product! Can you imagine how much they have leveraged on viral marketing as well as CRM efforts to make their brand known worldwide? Viral marketing might just be the best weapon Old Spice hold, and they certainly proved that they are worthy of its might.

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  11. I didn’t know there were so many factors that contribute to a viral video, a real eye-opener for me. One of the companies that managed to find success through a viral video that left an impression on me is Panda Cheese. I remember the catchy soundtrack that was played every time the panda appears and the things that the panda does are really absurd and funny. I really agree with the STEPPS model especially the point about emotion because if the audience feels impacted emotionally there is a strong first impression and people usually purchase things on impulse.

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    1. Thank you Kenneth! Panda Cheese has a very humourous aspect and I guess that was what made their brand so memorable as they have captured their audiences with a ironically interesting approach! I hope you have learn much through this post, especially the STEPPS Model, as it helped me identify the different elements of why viral marketing can turn viral and they really do make sense! I hope you are emotionally connected to Panda Cheese as well as I am 🙂

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  13. To be honest, I always thought that a simple humor or impact video about positive humanity would make videos go viral. After reading your post, I realised that there are actually plenty of other factors such as social currency, practical value and triggers other than just the basic emotions that i based it on. Thank you for your post and i enjoyed the read

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    1. Hey! You got that right! I initially had the same thoughts as you, until i dwell further into these topic of viral marketing, it doesnt mean that being able to connect with people on an emotional level is enough to make things go viral, there are plenty of factors that are involved, and these might be easy to understand, but definitely hard to pull off! Hope you enjoyed my content so far! 🙂

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