It started innocently enough: the out-takes from home
movies being sent when people first 'hooked' up that email
thing, acting almost as a rite of passage into email culture.
These films almost always involve animals and children
and both are harmed in the production of the film.
Remember the kid at the basketball game; the baby drop-kicked
by its grandma; the exploding Yorkshire terrier; the rabbit with a
cat vendetta; the baby-jumping cat (Why is it always cats?). One of
the first exceptions to the kids/animals rule was the guy going mental
at his computer.
We're going to omit the 'adult romance' genre from
this discussion right now and move swiftly on.
Then some bright upstart started sending adverts pirated
off the telly to mates. First Flat Eric, then John West
Salmon, and Budweiser's Wassup, it wasn't long before
your inbox looked like Clive James' TV show from the
80s, with foreign ads like the horny hedgehog getting
a look-in.
Eventually the attachments got to some exec in advertising
who, instead of worrying about their copyright being
ripped off, realised that if they could get people to
forward their adverts to each other they could save
a hell of a lot on airtime and look cool in the bargain
without worrying about the censors. Bingo.
 |
 |
Advertising agencies and directors rightly see virals
as a fun and creative medium to work with, and some
of the best virals of late have had A-list directors
and high production values (or studiously low ones)
attached, as well as nodding references to other ads
and popular films. Witness the MTV Christmas card, the
Xbox commercial, the Matrix Cow, BMW films and the recent
Lilt ad.
Many of these found their way onto TV and cinema after being 'aired'
as virals - a good way to measure the popularity before committing
to broadcast fees. The spoofing of successful ads or films is also
accepted practice, usually cleared with the original creative team,
because it can only help to mythologise the original. And of course,
cyberspace is clear of ITC regulation and censorship.
Despite the popularity of virals, it is by no means
easy to make a successful viral. For every successful
attachment there are hundreds of failed attempts, and
the world of viral is a tough one where only the strong
survive.
The format alone allows you but a few seconds to get
the idea across before the viewer stops the movie (or
the download) and your virus is wiped out.
How long it will remain at the creative forefront is another question.
As broadband rolls out across the UK, users will be more patient
with larger file sizes, and the creatives will have more bandwidth
to call upon meaning that we will see TV quality virals coming through.
In meantime however, the limitations of the format continue to inspire.
And this is exactly the challenge we posed to our directors:
come up with an idea that will be the next Flat Eric,
without falling flat.
Because we all know what happened to Flat Eric after
Levis.
|
