The Viral Impact of YouTube on Culture & Business

By Zack Larmand, Online Staff Writer

It has only been six years, but in that time span YouTube has made a significant impact on our world. By providing a way for people to share videos, YouTube has introduced viral videos and made them a part of our global culture. These videos can touch us, make us laugh, inform us and even market to us. This ability to go viral extends from culture, directly into the business world as companies take advantage of YouTube for this very quality.

The qualities that make a video viral are far from an exact science. Humor is a very big part of many of the famous viral videos of the past. Most YouTube humor however is usually at the expense of the person in the video. In this YouTube clip, a DNA test result shows that Adolph Hitler was actually Jewish and partially black … here’s his reaction:

The type of fame found in that video is unlikely to be the same kind a business is searching for. Businesses have traditionally been more cautious with the extremity of humor used in their advertisements. Nevertheless, YouTube has provided businesses with an avenue to press the boundaries of humor a little further then they may have previously on television. This video for Axe Shower gel has received over 30 million views for this funny ad:

Vodafone uses an even creepier style of humor in this very funny French ad, which has over 19 million views:

These culturally popular ads manage to take full advantage of a very new and very racy style of humor that is the truest form of pure nonsense; a style which has managed to make YouTube very popular. For example, the “Bed Intruder Guy” started out as a simple interview on the news, and a few video edits later, Antoine Dodson has become a YouTube auto-tune singing legend with almost 70 million views:

The Gregory Brothers (composers of the Bed Intruder song) were kind enough to split the proceeds of the song with Antoine, making him enough money to move out of the projects–all from one iTunes song. This instant fame snowballed into television appearances like this on in BET:

Antoine now even has his own iPhone add!

Social Causes and Branding

Thankfully, YouTube features some videos that leave nonsense aside and transmit a message of social good. A group of Canadian musicians (Young Artists For Haiti) created a very well received song titled Wavin’ Flag in support of raising funds for fix the damage done by Haiti’s devastating earthquake. This is an example of how sincerity and social justice do not go unnoticed on YouTube.

Although this video cannot compete with the views some of the other videos have obtained, it nevertheless proves that YouTube can be an important avenue for social causes that are important to society. The song by Young Artists For Haiti also creates a level of trust that is backed by the charity’s brand.

Cultures are easily humbled by tragic events and YouTube provides a way for a well branded organization to effectively appeal for help. This idea of branding is where YouTube can benefit both social causes and businesses the most.

Corporate

On the corporate side, Pepsi has always been extremely effective at branding their product. YouTube gives them an even stronger advantage and a new channel to deliver their message. Using humor Pepsi is able to advertise for free to tens of millions of people worldwide.

Pepsi Monk Ad:

Michael Jackson’s Pepsi Generation Ad:

From the time Google purchased YouTube for 1.65 Billion dollars in 2006, viewership has risen from over 100 million views per day to a whopping 2 Billion views per day. The addition of InVideo Ads and nonprofit channels make YouTube one of the best ways to be heard or seen by the world. The addition of 720p HD significantly increased the quality to which YouTube videos are watched.

YouTube will continue to expand in all areas including humor, branding, and definitely nonsense. Social cause videos also seem to be a growing trend, and these “feel good” stories are unlikely to drop in number. This very heartwarming story of a homeless man with an outstanding radio voice shows how individuals can contribute directly to a certain level of social justice and how the virtual community can share feelings of compassion.

This Indonesian baby was smoking 40 cigarettes a day, until his infamy which was helped partially by YouTube, forced the embarrassed Indonesian government to divert his cigarette addiction to playing:

YouTube attracts billions of viewers for a variety of reasons and this immense viewership is only going to increase in the future. The viral effects that videos have upon culture are duly noted by businesses and nonprofit organizations alike. A smart organization in the future will be required to have a very savvy approach toward YouTube in their attempts to market their ideas and their products competitively.

Now I would like to invite you to watch this awesome video of a gorilla walking like a man: