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Why you can’t invent (or buy) viral.

August 22, 2006 | Posted by: Nicholas

Following up on Agency.com’s blatant failure (read the comments at YouTube) at making a super-cool viral video, we have a true success story in the viral video arena.

The latest video by indie-pop band OK Go, Here It Goes Again, is nearing four million views on YouTube. The video was posted three weeks ago. Compare that to the less than 90,000 views the Agency.com video has gotten in the exact same time frame.

Why did one work and the other not? Well, OK Go had a leg up, since their first video went viral crazy as well. But, the real reason, and it’s also why their first video was such a success, is multi-fold:

1. It is genuine.
2. It’s not trying to sell you anything.
3. It wasn’t made to be viral.
4. The format fits the subject matter.
5. The audience for the video (super-hip ‘net kiddies) is perfrect for making it viral.
6. They had an audience to begin with.

This isn’t to say that some advertisements haven’t or won’t become viral, but the ones that do will not have been made to be viral as a goal. Thus, you can’t invent - or buy - viral. Viral ads, like real viruses, are hard to predict and hard to control.