It’s hard to determine what will become a viral video. Marketing firms try their hardest to create formulas and procedures to create them, but as soon as an equation seems to fit, a new viral video breaks all the rules.
Currently, it seems that the most shareable/popular videos are either made by quirky individuals or by gigantic companies with enough money to get the word out quickly. So it was a refreshing thing to see when a new company, Dollar Shave Club, became popular overnight.
The company has relied only on this video and Google Ads for marketing, and it’s done very well. Within 48 hours of being uploaded, the video attracted over 12,000 people to sign up for the service (entrepreneur.com). As of today the video has ranked over 10 million views.
This video has qualities from both corporate and homemade movies to bring it into the viral hall of fame. The CEO of the company, Michael Dubin follows a tight script similar to the comedy of Old Spice commercials. But for me personally, I find the small start-up feel of the commercial helps it appeal to viewers.
Allison Munson 