YouTube Viral Advertising: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Posted by Marco Corsaro @ May 5th, 2008 in Video Advertising
I like Kanye West…and to write this post I actually checked his bio on Wiki and realized he was born in ‘77…now I like him even more…:)
When Google acquired YouTube in 2006 for the astronomical figure of $1.65 billion I realized that the Internet Revolution would have soon hit the way advertising is created for users of the Videos.
I genuinely thought that Google would have found a way of engaging YouTube users and monetize the traffic very quickly.
I was wrong.
Google has been experimenting new advertising formats on YouTube but has not yet found one that could really work. I believe the main reason for that is that YouTube users are very different from traditional TV users…yes YouTube is a social media where users rely on other people recommendations and comments to determine what is worth viewing.
And YouTube users are demonstrating the power of user generated genius (UGG) and I am using the example of the Daft Hands video to explain how powerful the social and viral effect can be. This video was first shown to me by the Italian DJ star Linus.
Look at this video:
This original version was produced by a non professional user and has received over 18 million views and almost 60K comments…The video is based on the interpretation of the famous Kanye West Daft Punk song “Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger” using hands to show the lyrics in a creative way.
But this is only the beginning…as it happens in YouTube, the viral effect has pushed thousands of other users to generate similar videos and the result is unbelievable:

Just looking at the top 4 related videos you can add another 11million views to it…
So in a very short period of time a very creative user generated video has reached almost 30million users…
What can I say: New Media Marketing = Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger
Last 5 posts in Video Advertising
- Radiohead and Google, together for open source video 'House of Cards' - July 18th, 2008
- YouTube reaches out to political enthusiasts - July 11th, 2008
- Ingrid Betancourt freed from the FARC; YouTube shows us all - July 3rd, 2008
- Google goes to Hollywood with Family Guy creator - July 1st, 2008
- Weezer features YouTube celebs on 'Pork and Beans' - June 25th, 2008







Comments
mmmpld
May 5th, 2008
It’s a Daft Punk song, not a Kanye West song.
m.barreto
May 5th, 2008
awesome mmmpld, thanks for pointing that out!
Technologic, la mia quotidianità, secondo i Daft Punk, su mufu.it aka Vittorio Caposiena
June 11th, 2008
[...] Name it, rate it, tune it, print it, Scan it, send it, fax rename it, Touch it, bring it, pay it, watch it, Turn it, leave it, start format it. [...]