On February 7, Puma placed this video on YouTube  and their micro-site questioning what you would do if Valentine’s day fell on a soccer match day in both English and Italian. The site also offered the ability to send as an e-card or as a Facebook update with customizable text. While I will not begin to claim that I understand the game of soccer or Italian, this was a curious ad that I am sure appealed to the masses in both of the soccer-crazed countries.

From a viral standpoint the video was a hit with the following stats in just 10 days:

• Views 765,745; 76,574.5 views/day
• UK – 580,776; 58,077.6 views/day
• Italy – 184,969; 1,8496.9 views/day
• 840 Tweets about Hardchorus alone

What can we learn from this?

Viral videos are one of those things that need a catchy premise, a story and a little luck or you could just hire guns like these guys. So without tapping into how to make a video spread like wildfire, let’s take a look at what worked for Puma.

Catchy tune – If there is a person who doesn’t know the words to this Savage Garden song, please let me know. I would like to shake their hand. So off the bat it has a leg up on being sticky, because there is a good chance the tune will be stuck in the viewer’s head.

Passion – Much like the song being pretty well known, it is safe to say that folks around the world can put one and one together to know that both England and Italy are crazy about soccer or football as they like to call it. So the promotion also pulls at the heart strings of these fans. Do you spend Valentine’s day with your first love or the love you share your bed with? Depending on who you ask it might be a tough question.

Real – This could also fall under passion, but the hooligans in the commercial could easily be real fans sitting in the bar. Before you say Are you kidding me, think back to a Friday night when Journey comes on at the bar close to last call. So it is plausible.

Big brand, big buzz – While I couldn’t find budget details on the campaign, I am sure that this was a multi-channeled campaign that hit a number of channels to maximize the initial buzz. This could have also been as simple as an email blast that sent traffic to the site. This pre-population of buzz is similar to viral agencies that promise 100,000 YouTube views.

So how can you incorporate this into your marketing or social media mix? The first could be to find something that fits, takes you out of your comfort zone or could be seen as holding mass appeal. Read that not just cool to you but to kids and adults while making them want to connect with your brand. Fall down, get dirty, rinse and repeat until you strike gold.

What do you think of the campaign? Hokey? Brilliant? Love to hear your thoughts.

On February 7, Puma placed this video on YouTube  and their micro-site questioning what you would do if Valentine’s day fell on a soccer match day in both English and Italian. The site also offered the ability to send as an e-card or as a Facebook update with customizable text. While I will not begin to claim that I understand the game of soccer or Italian, this was a curious ad that I am sure appealed to the masses in both of the soccer-crazed countries.

From a viral standpoint the video was a hit with the following stats in just 10 days:

• Views 765,745; 76,574.5 views/day
• UK – 580,776; 58,077.6 views/day
• Italy – 184,969; 1,8496.9 views/day
• 840 Tweets about Hardchorus alone

What can we learn from this?

Viral videos are one of those things that need a catchy premise, a story and a little luck or you could just hire guns like these guys. So without tapping into how to make a video spread like wildfire, let’s take a look at what worked for Puma.

Catchy tune – If there is a person who doesn’t know the words to this Savage Garden song, please let me know. I would like to shake their hand. So off the bat it has a leg up on being sticky, because there is a good chance the tune will be stuck in the viewer’s head.

Passion – Much like the song being pretty well known, it is safe to say that folks around the world can put one and one together to know that both England and Italy are crazy about soccer or football as they like to call it. So the promotion also pulls at the heart strings of these fans. Do you spend Valentine’s day with your first love or the love you share your bed with? Depending on who you ask it might be a tough question.

Real – This could also fall under passion, but the hooligans in the commercial could easily be real fans sitting in the bar. Before you say Are you kidding me, think back to a Friday night when Journey comes on at the bar close to last call. So it is plausible.

Big brand, big buzz – While I couldn’t find budget details on the campaign, I am sure that this was a multi-channeled campaign that hit a number of channels to maximize the initial buzz. This could have also been as simple as an email blast that sent traffic to the site. This pre-population of buzz is similar to viral agencies that promise 100,000 YouTube views.

So how can you incorporate this into your marketing or social media mix? The first could be to find something that fits, takes you out of your comfort zone or could be seen as holding mass appeal. Read that not just cool to you but to kids and adults while making them want to connect with your brand. Fall down, get dirty, rinse and repeat until you strike gold.

What do you think of the campaign? Hokey? Brilliant? Love to hear your thoughts.

On February 7, Puma placed this video on YouTube  and their micro-site questioning what you would do if Valentine’s day fell on a soccer match day in both English and Italian. The site also offered the ability to send as an e-card or as a Facebook update with customizable text. While I will not begin to claim that I understand the game of soccer or Italian, this was a curious ad that I am sure appealed to the masses in both of the soccer-crazed countries.

From a viral standpoint the video was a hit with the following stats in just 10 days:

• Views 765,745; 76,574.5 views/day
• UK – 580,776; 58,077.6 views/day
• Italy – 184,969; 1,8496.9 views/day
• 840 Tweets about Hardchorus alone

What can we learn from this?

Viral videos are one of those things that need a catchy premise, a story and a little luck or you could just hire guns like these guys. So without tapping into how to make a video spread like wildfire, let’s take a look at what worked for Puma.

Catchy tune – If there is a person who doesn’t know the words to this Savage Garden song, please let me know. I would like to shake their hand. So off the bat it has a leg up on being sticky, because there is a good chance the tune will be stuck in the viewer’s head.

Passion – Much like the song being pretty well known, it is safe to say that folks around the world can put one and one together to know that both England and Italy are crazy about soccer or football as they like to call it. So the promotion also pulls at the heart strings of these fans. Do you spend Valentine’s day with your first love or the love you share your bed with? Depending on who you ask it might be a tough question.

Real – This could also fall under passion, but the hooligans in the commercial could easily be real fans sitting in the bar. Before you say Are you kidding me, think back to a Friday night when Journey comes on at the bar close to last call. So it is plausible.

Big brand, big buzz – While I couldn’t find budget details on the campaign, I am sure that this was a multi-channeled campaign that hit a number of channels to maximize the initial buzz. This could have also been as simple as an email blast that sent traffic to the site. This pre-population of buzz is similar to viral agencies that promise 100,000 YouTube views.

So how can you incorporate this into your marketing or social media mix? The first could be to find something that fits, takes you out of your comfort zone or could be seen as holding mass appeal. Read that not just cool to you but to kids and adults while making them want to connect with your brand. Fall down, get dirty, rinse and repeat until you strike gold.

What do you think of the campaign? Hokey? Brilliant? Love to hear your thoughts.

On February 7, Puma placed this video on YouTube  and their micro-site questioning what you would do if Valentine’s day fell on a soccer match day in both English and Italian. The site also offered the ability to send as an e-card or as a Facebook update with customizable text. While I will not begin to claim that I understand the game of soccer or Italian, this was a curious ad that I am sure appealed to the masses in both of the soccer-crazed countries.

From a viral standpoint the video was a hit with the following stats in just 10 days:

• Views 765,745; 76,574.5 views/day
• UK – 580,776; 58,077.6 views/day
• Italy – 184,969; 1,8496.9 views/day
• 840 Tweets about Hardchorus alone

What can we learn from this?

Viral videos are one of those things that need a catchy premise, a story and a little luck or you could just hire guns like these guys. So without tapping into how to make a video spread like wildfire, let’s take a look at what worked for Puma.

Catchy tune – If there is a person who doesn’t know the words to this Savage Garden song, please let me know. I would like to shake their hand. So off the bat it has a leg up on being sticky, because there is a good chance the tune will be stuck in the viewer’s head.

Passion – Much like the song being pretty well known, it is safe to say that folks around the world can put one and one together to know that both England and Italy are crazy about soccer or football as they like to call it. So the promotion also pulls at the heart strings of these fans. Do you spend Valentine’s day with your first love or the love you share your bed with? Depending on who you ask it might be a tough question.

Real – This could also fall under passion, but the hooligans in the commercial could easily be real fans sitting in the bar. Before you say Are you kidding me, think back to a Friday night when Journey comes on at the bar close to last call. So it is plausible.

Big brand, big buzz – While I couldn’t find budget details on the campaign, I am sure that this was a multi-channeled campaign that hit a number of channels to maximize the initial buzz. This could have also been as simple as an email blast that sent traffic to the site. This pre-population of buzz is similar to viral agencies that promise 100,000 YouTube views.

So how can you incorporate this into your marketing or social media mix? The first could be to find something that fits, takes you out of your comfort zone or could be seen as holding mass appeal. Read that not just cool to you but to kids and adults while making them want to connect with your brand. Fall down, get dirty, rinse and repeat until you strike gold.

What do you think of the campaign? Hokey? Brilliant? Love to hear your thoughts.