Why You Should Always Aim For A Better Job

Monster.co.uk aims to help people find better jobs and it has hit the nail on the head with this short but hilarious ad. The punchline isn’t one you’d expect, but that’s what makes it so good.

MINI Complete Amazing Car Backflip In The French Alps

It’s been a month since MINI released its teaser trailer for its unassisted backflip and now, we can finally see how it goes… in the French Alps. You may have noticed that the scenery has changed a bit, but French rally driver Guerlain Chicherit’s stunt has got it almost 700,000 views already so it’s safe to say that nobody really cares about the change.

The Strangest Job Interview You Will Ever See

Job interviews are boring and for the most part, predictable. You dress formally, you tell the interviewer that you’re enthusiastic and hard-working and you show your passion in a controlled environment. Heineken was looking for an intern but instead of doing things traditionally, it gave its candidates a number of odd tasks that they couldn’t possibly prepare for.

Want To See Bubbles Being Popped In Super Slow Motion?

We’re guessing you answered yes to that question so we won’t waste your time with too many details. In their slowest video yet, The Slowmo guys decide to see what a bubble looks like when it’s popped at 18,000 frames per second. We doubt you need any more of an explanation than that so just watch and enjoy.

This Brilliant Google Glasses Preview Will Make You Want A Pair

A year after its teaser video, it looks like Google Glasses is nearing the moment where it’s released to the world. And if all the excitement surrounding it confuses you, then this preview will certainly get you excited. If it works half as well as the video suggests, then we’ll be
first in line for them.

Red Bull Gives Fascinating Glimpse Into The World Of Skateboarders

Red Bull is the king of viral video content, so it’s safe to assume that its content will always be interesting. Its latest video is a 16 minute short film that documents the trials and tribulations of the world’s top skateboarders. It’s long but if it gives a fascinating glimpse into the thought process behind the sport.

Freerunner Does Majestic Parkour Run In The Snow

Parkour videos are already stylish and well produced affairs, but it seems now that there’s so many of them out there, you need to have more than just amazing stunts to separate yourself from the rest. This video does this by being set in the snow, which gives what feels like another parkour video a new lease of life.

Volkswagen Does It Again With Humourous Ski Mask Ad

Volkswagen is really on fire this year, following one brilliant campaign with another brilliant campaign. It has done it again with another funny campaign, this time involving a misunderstanding involving a ski mask. Even if it wasn’t good, we would like it just for the inclusion of the Trololo song at the end.

Dell Shows How Technology Brings The Figments Of Our Imagination To Life

What appears on the surface as a menial and dull daily commute, this latest ad from Dell portrays the unseen imagination of Dell user, Thomas M. Wilks. By escaping into this fantasy world of amphibious detectives and locust-riding mice, the ad highlights the creative potential of the XPS 12.

The Best Bus Stop You Will Ever See

Considering how mundane buses are in general, and everything else associated with it, it’s the one place where you wouldn’t expect anything exciting to happen. However, Qualcomm created up with the best bus stop ever where commuters are picked up by sports cars and dog sleighs, or are greeted by an improv circus show. It certainly brightened up the days of those involved and as a marketing campaign, it’s brilliant.

Every single day, it feels like something will come along and be the next big social network that takes over, and today we cover another pretender to that post. The site is called Nextdoor and rather than focus on one huge social network, it aims to connect people within their neighborhoods to each other.

Over the last couple of weeks, rumours have started swirling about Apple having up to 100 engineers working on a new watch that will feature bending glass and run iOS. With Google also launching its Glasses project and other products like the Nike+ fuel band on the market, we are clearly entering a whole new era of wearable computing and that is brilliant news for us consumers.

However, the company are looking to change that perception with its own funded content and the first offering is “House Of Cards.” With the entire series of 13 episodes released in one batch, is this the future of media consumption, or a bad move by Netflix?

While the iPad mini has been getting a lot of attention, especially over the Christmas period, there is another rival tablet, which is just as good and more powerful than Apple’s newest device. The Nexus 7 is Google’s attempt in breaking into this market and is both powerful and versatile,  making it a great alternative to the iPad Mini.

Because we know that there are a lot of Android lovers out there, alongside a lot of new Nexus 7 users, we’ve put together this handy video which goes through some of the more useful features of the device.

Our friends at Unruly Media have compiled the twenty most shared social videos ads of the year. You might be amazed to hear that not one of them is PSY’s Gangnam style.

20. Feblefin: Amazing Mind Reader Reveals His ‘Gift’

Company: Felbefin
Agency: Duval Guillaume
Number Of Views: 6,896,802
Number of Shares: 704,881
Why It Worked: By playing upon the idea that all of your personal and private information is easily available online, Duval Guillaume created a campaign that was powerful in its message about how easily it is for your information to fall into the wrong hands.

19. Air New Zealand and WETA: An Unexpected Briefing

Company: Air New Zealand
Agency: WETA Digital, WETA Workshop & Toybox
Number Of Views: 9,828,710
Number of Shares: 820,192
Why It Worked: Really, who doesn’t like the Lord of the Rings series? Considering that the films were shot in the country, Air New Zealand takes the necessary, but boring process of air safety and makes it fun and memorable through its numerous references to JR Tolken’s classic.

18. Banco Som Sabadell: Som Sabadell Flashmob

Company: Banco Som Sabadell
Agency: Remake
Number Of Views: 7,963,471
Number of Shares: 862,092
Why It Worked: A flash mob with a difference. Instead of dancing to the latest hit, Som Savadell created a classy flash mob which featured a symphony orchestra playing part of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9. The more people that joined the performance, the more momentum the performance acquired which led to a stunning finale.

17. Red Bull: Athlete Machine (Red Bull Kluge)

Company: Red Bull
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 11,800,742
Number of Shares: 954,960
Why It Worked: Red Bull, as always, is famous for its elaborate stunts and videos and this one is probably one of its most ambitious. Creating one of the largest Rube Goldberg machine featuring numerous famous athletes, the video left you watching to see who else would appear and what other contraptions would make up the machine.

16. Sesame Street Workshop: Share It Maybe

Company: Sesame Street
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 12,003,830
Number of Shares: 864,338
Why It Worked: Creating a parody of a catchy song such as Call Me Maybe isn’t an original idea. However, the characters of Sesame Street have become masters at putting their own unique spin on them that appeal to both kids and adults. This one, which has the Cookie Monster looking for cookies, is no exception and is fun to watch.

15. Nike: My Time Is Now

Company: Nike
Agency: W=K London
Number Of Views: 22,101,963
Number of Shares: 902,729
Why It Worked: Nike’s ads focus on being inspirational and including the message that anyone can achieve their dreams. This video where the whole world gets involved in a professional football match is chaotic and brilliantly put together. It formed part of a larger campaign which asked viewers to find numerous hidden easter eggs in the video.

14. Nike: Mercurial Vapor Vill: Cristiano Ronaldo vs Rafa Nadal

Company: Nike
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 10,217,010
Number of Shares: 921,716
Why It Worked: Another Nike ad, this time featuring the biggest stars of football and tennis. Seeing both athletes pull off trick shots with both a tennis and football is a lot of fun and would appeal massively to sports fans.

13. Coke: Unlock The 007 In You, You Have 70 Seconds

Company: Coke Zero
Agency: Duval Guillaume Modem
Number Of Views: 9,465,361
Number of Shares: 935,098
Why It Worked: This campaign has ‘cool’ written all over it. Plunging unsuspecting commuters into a scenario befitting of a James Bond flick was an inspired idea, and seeing how everything came together so perfectly as each person rushed to platform 6 was exhilarating and made you wish you got to take part.

12. Go Pro: Black Edition, Smaller, Lighter and 2X More Powerful

Company: Go Pro
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 12,536,864
Number of Shares: 1,069,216
Why It Worked: Showing off breathtaking scenery and at the same time, showing off the quality of images from your product makes this a hit in so many ways. A video that begs to be viewed in HD so you can appreciate it.

11. Google: One Day, Project Glass

Company: Google
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 18,469,295
Number of Shares: 1,026,307
Why It Worked: Google’s tech demo for its new glasses product was a fascinating glimpse into Google’s vision for the future. The product itself isn’t commercially available yet, but this video piqued interest and has people wondering what new devices the future will bring.

10. PBS Studios: Mister Rogers Remixed, Garden Of Your Mind

Company: PBS Studios
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 7,696,395
Number of Shares: 1,057,810
Why It Worked: Before he passed away in 2003, Fred Rogers was famous for his show, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which educated children of America between 1968 to 2001. Leaving a lasting impression, this auto tune remix of his show was a fitting tribute to the man and the nostalgia meant it got more than one million shares.

9. Volkswagen: The Bark Side

Company: Volkswagen
Agency: Deutsch Inc.
Number Of Views: 18,085,011
Number of Shares: 1,127,505
Why It Worked: Dogs dressed up as Star Wars characters barking Darth Vader’s theme tune in sync. Even though it was broadcast during the Superbowl, the combination of two popular memes meant that it was always going to see massive sharing figures.

8. Chevrolet OK Go, Needing/Getting

Company: Chevrolet
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 23,729,428
Number of Shares: 1,140,793
Why It Worked: A band famous for its cooky and intriguing videos, OK Go teamed up with Chevrolet to perform their (at the time) latest song using their instruments, the car and a number of other props as the band drives through a giant obstacle course.

7. Melbourne Metro: Dumb Ways To Die

Company: Melbourne Metro
Agency: McCann Australia
Number Of Views: 31,582,405
Number of Shares: 2,318,205
Why It Worked: Much like Air New Zealand, Melbourne Metro made a safety ad interesting by featuring cute characters dying in odd ways and a seriously catchy tune that will be stuck in your head for days on end made this a hit.

6. Dancesport Studio: Two-Year-Old Dancing The Jive

Company: Dancesport Studio
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 16,720,821
Number of Shares: 2,173,847
Why It Worked: One of the few unplanned videos featured on this list, Dancesport Studio’s footage of a two year old child dancing jive and ran with it. Anyone who can resist the charm of a small child pulling off numerous dance moves should check their pulse to see if they’re still alive.

5. P&G: Best Job

Company: P&G
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy
Number Of Views: 11,996,164
Number of Shares: 2,232,289
Why It Worked: Showing that every athlete has had to start somewhere, P&G’s tribute to mothers all over the world is an emotional and touching video which highlights the hard work and the rewards that being a mother brings.

4. DC Shoes: Gymkhana 5

Company: DC Shoes
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 35,444,330
Number of Shares: 2,292,354
Why It Worked: At almost ten minutes, this is the second longest video on the list, but DC Shoes shot an amazing film which turned San Francisco into a giant playground for rally driver Ken Block. Seeing him weave through numerous obstacles and pull off numerous stunts from different angles will leave you watching until the very end.

3. Abercrombie & Fitch: Call Me Maybe

Company: Abercrombie & Fitch
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 17,266,303
Number of Shares: 2,480,663
Why It Worked: Do we really need to explain why this video was such a hit? Attractive male models + catchy pop song = viral hit. Simple math really!

2. TNT Benelux: A Dramatic Surprise On A Quiet Square

Company: TNT Benelux
Agency: Duval Guillaume
Number Of Views: 42,213,286
Number of Shares: 4,360,901
Why It Worked: There are so many factors which make this ad campaign work so well. The dramatic music, the idyllic location, oh and the ensuring drama and chaos that happens when you push a red button. A video that never gets old, no matter how many times you watch it.

1. Invisible Children: Kony 2012

Company: Invisible Children
Agency: N/A
Number Of Views: 94,262,284
Number of Shares: 10,068,988
Why It Worked: Lasting a whole 30 minutes, Kony 2012 shouldn’t be a viral video because of the massive time commitment it requires. However, it takes something truly special to make something this long work.

There are so many factors that made this video so popular: An inspiring message, a call to action, showing how social media has inspired us, some brilliant shots, an emotional story and backdrop and an effective plan for getting the video shared. All of this meant that Invisible Children’s video resonated with the global population, cementing its place as the most shared video of 2012.

Today, we’ve compiled a huge list of tips and tricks that will help you get more out of the biggest video sharing site. The amount of views that your content ultimately gets will come down to the quality of the content because people will start sharing it then.

Advertising

One of the most obvious ways of getting views is to simply pay for them, but it is amazing how few people know that advertising is an option on YouTube. One of the best ways of getting views is by making it appear in the sponsored videos section of the site. YouTube offers a wide range of advertising, but by simply appearing at the top of search results in the same manner as on Google Adwords, it means your video can get highly relevant clicks.

Embedding Videos

Pretty obvious that the more places that your video is embedded in, the more views that you will get. Have a look at some of the stats on videos and you’ll see that the main place people see them is when they’re embedded on third party sites. Don’t just expect people to find your content on a whim though as you will have to proactively go out there and ask people to feature it, submit it to sharing sites and generally find sites where your content will be relevant to their audience.

Increasing Interaction On Videos

The more people who comment or click on the like button, the better your video will perform in the rankings.  YouTube uses these as a metric to see which videos people are liking and engaging with to show better results to future people searching on the site. This doesn’t mean that you should try and game the system, but if you find ways to encourage people to like the video or leave comments, it will definitely help you in the long-run.

Making People Watch The Videos For Longer

This is one of the most recent changes to the YouTube algorithm and it’s one that makes a lot of sense in terms of determining the quality of videos that get watched on the site. The longer that people spend watching your video, the better it will perform in future search results. There is absolutely no way of gaming this or trying to come up with little tricks because the best and only way of making sure people watch your video for a long time is making sure the content is so compelling, they simply don’t want to click on to the next thing.

Leave Annotations And Captions

You can easily add captions and annotations to your videos and you will often see these on some of the most viewed videos on the site. The idea here is that you can prompt people to do things such as like, comment or engage with your videos in subtle ways. You can also turn annotations into clickable links so if you have a video that is getting a lot of views, you can point people to another video, channel or playlist to help drive traffic to that video too. You are only limited by your own imagination when it comes to annotations and captions on YouTube so come up with innovative ways to help them increase your video views.

Choose Your Best Thumbnail

The thumbnail pic is what appears when people are searching for it and the image that shows when the video is embedded on a third-party site. Therefore, you want to make sure that the image used best represents your video. While YouTube’s video editor gives you the choice of many screenshot thumbnails, you do have the option to upload a custom one, which can make your video stand out more when you’re looking through the search results.

Attract Subscribers

Attracting subscribers can be difficult if you don’t have a plan, but thankfully there are a number of ways to boost that number. The most straightforward method is to do it in your own videos. Provide a call-to-actions in your video by asking them to subscribe, why they should do it and how to do it. Other places you can promote your video content include your own blog, your different social media channels and embedding a subscription widget on your site.

Fill In The Meta Data

It might seem boring to fill in the titles, descriptions and tags but they work. YouTube’s search engine needs ways to recognise relevant videos and by filling these out, you increase the chances of your video being discovered so take the time to come up with relevant keywords, phrases and tags.

Create Timely Content

People always look for content that is timely and relevant. So if it’s coming up to Christmas, release something that ties in with that. Is Apple releasing a new product? What are the big news or sporting events at the moment? If you think what people are most likely to be searching for and make content specifically for that, you have a much better chance of appearing in search results.

Add a YouTube Widget To Your Blog

Another way of directing people to your YouTube site is to add a subscriber’s widget to your site. This is a box that will contain your username, logo, and number of videos and subscriptions your account has. What you need to do is to place the widget’s embed code into the source code of your site or blog the same way you embed a YouTube video. YouTube itself has a more detailed post explaining how to do it here.

Interact In The Comments Yourself

YouTube comments are a wild place that seem to attract a particularly nasty group of commenters. While they might have negative things to say about your video, one of the best ways to get people coming back is to have an active discussion thread. Jump in as your own channel profile and engage in the comments as much as you possibly can. Don’t be scared to disagree with other people and say things that could encourage more comments. The more people involved in the discussion, the more people that are coming back to your video to see what’s going on.

Be Consistent

Nobody is going to come back to a channel if they don’t know when the next video is going to appear so put a schedule together that ensures you’re producing content consistently. When you’re scheduling, it’s best to know what you’re going to be covering for the next four or five videos and if it’s possible, create them long before they’re due to go up. That way, not only are you ahead of schedule, but if you want to produce a video that deals with something current, you had the leeway for it.

If it is a case that the next new video isn’t going to appear until later than usual, then highlight it at the end of your latest video or on your site. Your viewers will appreciate it and there won’t be any confusion when it happens.

Don’t Create Long Videos

When you’re getting started, short, snappy videos are the best way to get people hooked. Preferably, four to five minutes would be the longest video you want to create since people want to watch as much as they can in the short space of time they have. The shorter it is, the easier it is to finish and the better chances you have of getting your message across. When people become more familiar with your content, you can lengthen it if you wish.

Create Playlists

Playlists are a great way of grouping brilliant videos you like and uniting them under the one common theme. While many create them for their own personal fun, you can use them to help increase your own video’s views. Simply create a playlist that follows the same theme as the video you want to promote and then slot your video in with them. Playlists usually appear near the end of a search page so you won’t get immediate views, but if you share the playlist around and it grows in popularity, your video may get a number of views on the top of its success.

Get Personalised Recommendations

There are numerous commerce studies which shows that personal recommendations are more effective so why wouldn’t the same apply when promoting your video. If you have a number of friends online, find out whether they would mind sharing your video on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or LinkedIn. The aim is for the post, update or share to be genuine and for it to be shared by other people for the same reasons.

This should only be a once-off however, as your friends would probably get annoyed if you ask them to promote your latest video again and again. Also, don’t beg. There’s really nothing more unappealing than that.

Use YouTube Keyword Suggestion Tool

If you’re struggling to come up with the appropriate SEO related words for your video, YouTube’s Keyword Suggestion Tool is a great way to discover key phrases that you can use for your video. You can also copy in your video URL to get suggestions for your video.

Upload A Transcript

While it’s usually overlooked, you should provide a transcript whenever you get the chance as it will give you a major advantage when it comes to SEO. If you have a script for your video, uploading it up is simple, but if you haven’t one, transcribe the video and upload one as soon as you can. YouTube does offer an automatic transcription tool for videos, but most of the time it’s hilariously inaccurate so provide your own when you can.

Use Video Responses

If there’s another popular video out there, you can potentially piggyback off it by creating a video response. Normally, users upload a video in response, but you also have the option to choose a video that you’ve already uploaded. The reason why this is useful is when you scroll down, video responses are the first thing you will see. The possibility of your video appearing there is dependent on how popular the video is and how many other users posted responses.

Be warned though, each video in your account can only be used as a video response one so choose wisely.

Create Backlinks

If you want your video to be more prominent in Google’s search rankings, then you need as many high-qualities links as you can get. Try and get as many links to your content as possible through social media sites and blogs and share it with other sites who might be interested in covering it.

Now the existence of YouTube means anyone can jump onto a trend and create their own parody or homage video in a short space of time. This has meant that numerous brands have created their own versions of existing videos and in some cases, they can even be better than the originals.

What Needs To Be Considered?

There are two main factors brands need to do before they can consider releasing their own version. The first is timing: exactly how long has it been since it first appeared as you need to be quick off the blocks if you want to capitalise on this. The second one is originally, or more specifically, how can you improve on the original? It’s not enough to just do the same thing except have a few brand references thrown in, you need to give viewers a reason to watch your video and separate yourself from the inevitable number of homages that will quickly appear.

Sometimes taking the time to prepare something original will pay off in the long run, but you’ll need something truly original or unique for people to properly take notice.

Some Examples

What better way to show what works by showing a few examples from the past year. Some are from brands, some aren’t, but all base themselves on an original concept and improve upon it.

Gangnam Style
With over 591 million views, it’s safe to say that pretty much everyone now knows PSY’s Gangnam Style. The song has seen a slew of impersonations and remixes done in its honour. We’ve lost count of the number of times people have created their own version of the tune, but we’ll go with this Ghostbusters remix simply because it’s a lot of fun to watch and listen to.

LMFAO
Remember LMFAO (you know, silly lyrics, catchy tunes, crazy hair, etc.)? Remember how a lot of bands, groups and people made videos based on it? KIA took the tune and applied it to an incredibly bizarre situation, disco hamsters interrupting an intergalactic war. No, we have no idea where the inspiration came from either, but somehow it works.

Downfall Parodies
As powerful as Bruno Ganz performance as Hitler was, few could have predicted just how many times his iconic outburst would be parodied. Almost every subject you can think of has been lambasted by Hitler, the most recent being Apple Maps (Also, for any brands reading this, please, please, please don’t do a Downfall parody as they’ve been done to death).

Shit X Say
What originally began as a critique of the sillier things girls said took a life of its own and was applied to every facet of life. Girls, Apple fans, rocks, and even Silicon Valley wasn’t safe from being critiqued.

Call Me Maybe
Another incredibly catchy song released earlier this year, this time from Carly Rae Jepsen. Anyone who tried to get the tune out of their heads wasn’t helped by the number of covers and parodies that followed long after. A group of dogs, the Miami Cheerleaders, the US Olympic swimming team, the Star Wars films, and a choir and orchestra covered the song, but we like Seasme Street’s version which features the cookie monster singing ‘Share It Maybe.’

Babies
Evian has a lot to answer for creating this trend. Seeing babies do things that adults do is either cute or extremely creepy depending on how you view things, but that hasn’t stopped numerous brands from placing them in rock bands or working out in the gym.

LEGO
Is there anything more fun than LEGO? There are a massive number of videos that use the toy blocks to cover major events from Euro 2012, Felix Baumgartner’s jump, major movies like Inception and even music videos.

Thank You Video
A growing trend among brands, many have created their own videos after reaching a specific milestone to thank their many fans. Brands like Nestle, Corona, KLM, Kraft, Cadbury’s and Vodafone have created videos thanking their fans for following them. This video for Vodafone was something we created to celebrate its Facebook page reaching 100,000 fans.

Rewarding Honesty
Ok so there’s only two on this list, but it’s still a very good example on how to improve upon an original. Coca-Cola did it by rewarding honest Benfica fans free tickets to the next game after they returned a lost wallet. But Australian bank NAB added in a few neat touches to create something entirely unique.

Cats
If you’re going to be talking about online trends, sooner or later cats are going to be involved. It’s a rule of the internet or something. There are so, so many different examples to choose from, but we’ll have to settle on agency John St’s Catvertising video, which is brilliant on so many levels.

Should Brands Jump On Trends?

The answer to that really depends on how the subject matter is approached. Provided there’s something original behind the idea, there’s nothing to say that a brand can’t create a successful video using a viral video as inspiration.

However, what brands need to remember is that viewers want to be wowed, amazed or see something that will provoke an emotional reaction. It can be easy to forget that the videos shown above have one or more of these qualities. Gangnam style was successful because it was a good tune and had a ridiculous video accompanying it, Call Me Maybe was a song that was difficult to forget no matter how hard you tried, the Shit Girls Say videos were fun because there was a truth to them, and so on. All these videos has something that made them watchable so the core of your video has to be good otherwise it will get lost among the millions of videos on the site.

The bottom line is if you can approach something with an original idea or unique angle, then it could definitely work, but if you’re only interested in recreating something and cash in on a video’s success, then perhaps you should look elsewhere.

This week, we have a very special guest as the office dog, Snoop, decided to get in on the action and join the show. He didn’t really have a whole lot to say though. Let us know in the comments what you think about the Facebook app and tablets in general.