Some pundits derided presidential candidate Herman Cain following the release of his “Now is the time for action!” campaign video that prominently featured his 
campaign manager, Mark Block, smoking a cigarette. Stupid was a popular adjective used to describe the thinking behind the video. That was the initial reaction from critics. The public reaction that followed was something different with well over a million views on YouTube and more than $5 million in donations. Now I would call that pure genius.
Most marketers live with the dream of creating a viral video. It is on almost everyone’s to-do list: improve web content, test new PPC landing pages, get coffee, make viral video… And why wouldn’t it be? How many bosses have commanded, “…I just saw some foreign kid biting his brother’s finger and it’s been viewed like 383 million times – go get us some free advertising like that!” It sure sounds simple enough.
But genius should not be confused with a light switch. Do some simple math and you can see that buying lottery tickets might present a better investment; buy $10,000 worth of tickets and the odds of winning are 1 in 17,500. Compare that to producing a video for the same investment. With about 1M videos uploaded to YouTube each day our 1:1,000,000 is far less appealing than 1:17K. The point is this – the odds of success are very long for either endeavor. So, how do we turn things to our advantage?
Below are my simple suggestions for making really smart, stupid videos with better odds of going viral:
1) Be wildly different – Boring is the direct product of repetition, so break away from what everyone else is doing.
2) Stay true to your core values and message. At its most basic level, the Cain video supported the candidate’s message of being different (from other politicians) and advocating individual responsibility.
3) Don’t directly offend – Too many video producers equate shock value with viewership. Being offensive very rarely leads to success and never sells.
4) Provoke comments. This means choosing popular and sometimes controversial themes that will get those with a large audience to talk about you. (My favorite was Colbert’s send-up of the Cain video).
I’ve really never been a huge fan of political advertising from either side, but I recognize genius when I see it. Now, to get started on that stupid storyboard…
