pants on the ground...

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about what creates “buzz”.
What spurs certain performances to go viral?
In case you have somehow missed the latest viral sensation; one month ago American Idol aired General Larry Pratt’s “Pants on the Ground” causing Simon to quip “I have a horrible feeling that song could be a hit.”

The performance quickly went viral. You Tube, Brett Farve, The View, remixes and now weather related remixes….
I was trying to get a rough count-just on the audition videos out there on the first page of youtube something like 18 million hits.
And the backlash, are people laughing at him?
Personally I love this guy. There is a lot more to Larry Pratt than this little ditty, including his history of strong involvement in the civil rights movement of the 60’s.
So tell me, what do you think causes things like this to go viral?

attention span...

In this day and micro wave age I initially caught myself thinking I wouldn't watch this entire video, which was 7:47 in length in a "rhythm of film" package done in 1963.

But I was reminded of a couple excellent points in marketing...

1) Background Music is Critical: While I was well aware of the music sweeping me along; I actually found I couldn't help myself. I could hardly wait for the climax, I wanted to experience the entire film. It was an excellent example of choosing the correct music for the desired result.

2) Momentum Works: Created anticipation. It caught my attention early on and I stayed with it the entire 7:47.

3) The Climax: For me it as like reading a book vs. watching a movie based on a book. The movie never is exciting as what I have created in my mind. When I saw the milk bottles lined up at the station in the beginning of the film, I kept imagining that the train would crash into the snow and it would make ice cream. LOL. Seriously. But this wasn't my film, or my vision.