Mike Andrew Consulting

Top Viral Videos – Feb. 2011

By mike, Mar 02 in blog with 0 comments

Ads that originally aired during the 2011 Super Bowl and videos featuring autos were heavily featured in the list of the 10 most-shared online videos tracked by Unruly Media during February 2011. In addition, seven of the 10 videos featured some type of vehicle, making February the second straight month viewers felt a need for speed.

Videos Put Viewers in Super Mood

Three of the top 10 most-shared videos in February 2011 began as ads aired during the 2011 Super Bowl (Feb. 6, 2011). These include the top two videos, “Volkswagen Commercial: The Force” and “Chrysler Eminem Super Bowl Commercial: Imported from Detroit.”

Another Volkswagen Super Bowl ad, “Volkswagen Commercial: Black Beetle,” made the list at number seven. Interestingly, perennial Super Bowl advertiser Doritos scored the ninth spot on the list with “Doritos Crash the Super Bowl 2010 Finalist: House Rules,” originally aired during the 2010 Super Bowl.

Super Bowl ads are noted for their production values, humor and use of celebrities. The top video featured a little boy dressed as “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader and combined humor with feel-good cutesiness and pop culture. Volksagen’s other “Black Beetle” commercial offered top-notch stop-motion photography and the Chrysler commercial featured music from Eminem, one of the most popular musical performers of the past decade (and a Detroit native). The 2010 Doritos spot also offers a potent combination of humor and an adorable little kid.

Keep Things Moving

Following a January when five of the top 10 videos featured a vehicle, February’s list included seven vehicular videos. These included three auto commercials (the two Volkswagen ads and the Chrysler ads), the two installments of the popular “Gymkhana” series of extreme stunt driving videos, a video of extreme biker Danny MacAskill performing daring deeds across Scotland, and the longtime favorite Evian video of rollerblading babies, proving once again cute little kids sell big.

Indian Video Scores Again

For the second straight month, a video aimed at the Indian market cracked the top 10. Following an Indian McDonald’s ad which ranked in January, this month “Silent Indian National Anthem,” a patriotic video showing Indian schoolchildren standing and saluting while an instrumental version of the Indian national anthem plays in the background, was ranked number nine.

India is the world’s second-most-populous country and has a rapidly growing economy, making it a potentially lucrative market for viral videos.

Online Video Gains Momentum

The online video market continued to gain momentum in 2010, with an average of 179 million Americans watching video each month, according to a new white paper from comScore. “The 2010 US Digital Year in Review” indicates that engagement levels also rose during the year, with viewers watching online videos more frequently.

More than 88.6 million people watched online video on an average day in December 2010 (up 32% from December 2009), while viewing sessions totaled 5.8 billion for the month (up 13% year-over-year). Americans also spent about 12% more hours viewing online video in 2010 (14.2) compared the prior year (12.7) due to increased content consumption and more video ad streams. The average American streamed a record 201 videos in December 2010, up 8% from 187 a year earlier.

About the author

Mike Andrew has been working with the Internet and small business for over 12 years. Mike has been a keynote speaker at conventions and seminars and conducted social media training sessions all over the world. Mike has an extensive media background having worked in electronic media for over 30 years. Mike specialises in social media and Internet marketing strategy, SEO techniques and search engine marketing campaigns. His articles appear on numerous blogs around the web as well as national magazines.