Cup of Joe: How Not To Go Viral and Look Like an Idiot

Saturday, November 21st, 2009 by Joe Hall

Cup of Joe: How Not To Go Viral and Look Like an Idiot

So, ever since I came back from Vegas, I have had a pretty bad head cold. But, I have been diligently applying my favorite remedy: Watching mindless YouTube videos! Seriously, it makes me feel better. I am not sure why, but I am sticking to it! One thing I have noticed is that the most popular videos have at least one of two things; authentic, original content, or very well polished and produced material. Basically, if the video has authentic, original content then it doesn’t really matter if it’s “put together” well, because the content alone will sell it. However, if you are trying to replicate something someone has already done, then you need to do it better than them, make sure that your presentation is polished and your delivery is spot on.

Which brings us to the video above. Here we see employees at a Microsoft store dancing to Chris Brown’s “Forever” Black Eyed Peas. This is an obvious attempt to ride on the popular Wedding Entrance meme that started this summer. Unfortunately, the content of this video isn’t authentic or original and it was put together pretty poorly. I mean, take a look at those buffoons! Their own customers are trying hard to ignore how awkward they look. This is the type of video I would normally find at failblog. So instead of creating a viral video that helps promote their brand, the only attention they get is snarky bloggers (like me) making fun of them!

This same lesson can be applied outside of viral video. Take for example MySpace and Facebook. For a long time MySpace was the only mainstream social network. Because they had an original concept they didn’t have to worry about having a polished interface and enforcing tight security standards, and they didn’t. As a result, Facebook gained massive popularity over MySpace because they offered everything MySpace did plus a clean interface and a barrage of privacy options.

So, to sum things up: When developing a product or a new idea ask your self, is this original? If the answer is no, then spend as much time on presentation and working out the kinks as possible.

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20 comments on “Cup of Joe: How Not To Go Viral and Look Like an Idiot”

Alan Bleiweiss Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 6:23 am

Dude!

This is the most pitifully staged nonsense! the only “customers” into it are either shills, or have no life. The rest are just trying to decide what they may want to consider buying, but are totally distracted by the cheese-whiz dancing. LOL.
Alan Bleiweiss´s last blog ..Google Home Page On Crack – The Bigger Picture
tski Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 7:04 am

hmmm not sure who i feel more sorry for… the employees or the customers
tski´s last blog ..A picture mouse mat from your photo collection
Betting Advice 911 – What Hedge Fund Whiz John Paulson Sees in … « Hollywood Celebs Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 7:20 am

[...] Cup of Joe: How Not To Go Viral and Look Like an Idiot [...]
Leftfield Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 11:49 am

I didn’t saw buffoons. Girl in green shirt got all my attention
Martín Aberastegue Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 12:30 pm

Hey Andy, the song isn’t “Forever” from Chris Brown, is “I got a feeling” from Black Eyed Peas. And they should hire some extras for this first….

Andy Beal Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 12:39 pm
You are right. I think Joe is just a big Chris Brown fan!

Joe Hall Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 1:22 pm
Oh Busted! Your right I am a huge Chris Brown fan! My bad!

Martín Aberastegue Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 2:51 pm
Oh sorry, I didn’t saw that the author was Joe. I’ll send you a Chris Brown t-shirt for this christmas
Martín Aberastegue´s last blog ..Leido por ahi (III)
Andy Beal Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 12:41 pm

The customers in the store should have been presented with a security warning:

“Some lame employees are about to start dancing: Allow/Disallow”
SEO Ireland Says:

November 21st, 2009 at 4:48 pm

Two stars for this video is pretty high. Looks like an attempt by higher management to tackle the MOOBS (MAN BOOBS) problem growing in Microsoft.

Will this be a daily feature??? lol
Oscar Del Santo Says:

November 22nd, 2009 at 9:58 am

Oh my… This is bad….
youfoundjake Says:

November 22nd, 2009 at 2:51 pm

Yeah, all I saw was the girl in the green shirt, who says geeks aren’t sexy?
youfoundjake´s last blog ..Google to Reward Faster Sites
LouMitch Says:

November 22nd, 2009 at 3:17 pm

so i agree, this is dumb and a blatant rip off, and i am embarassed watching it…i also think the chris brown stunt was equally dumb, but more original i guess….however…..it reminds me of the old adage:

“There’s no such thing as bad publicity.”

look how many people are calling attention to this…make fun of it all you want…the best thing would have been to ignore it all together
Oh the Horror! Weighing Legal Fears Against the ROI of Social Media in Business (Part 1) « SociaLies Says:

November 23rd, 2009 at 12:15 am

[...] Of course, like anything else, if you don’t know what you’re doing there is always the chance of making yourself look like an idiot. Unique, relevant content is always appreciated, as Joe Hall points out in his article, Cup of Joe: How Not To Go Viral and Look Like an Idiot. [...]
vitalWEBS Says:

November 23rd, 2009 at 12:41 am

You have got to be kidding me.

Skip to the end of the vid to see the Double High Five Hand Slap like they really did something good.

What are they are gonna do next week? The Locomotion?

Shouldn’t cute and kitschy be left to the companies with the brands that are cute and kitschy?

This was an embarrassment for Microsoft.
Mark Says:

November 23rd, 2009 at 5:09 am

We can just skip whatever we think it doesn’t look good. We don’t want to become idiot, do we?
pcampagna Says:

November 23rd, 2009 at 9:48 am

at 2:15 you see the girl in white shoplifting.

Video totally fails.
Dean Says:

November 23rd, 2009 at 11:29 am

Dear Microsoft – In future leave your “spontaneous” antics to the pros at http://improveverywhere.com/. But congrats on annoying the few customers in the store that were, like, trying to buy stuff but couldn’t get help for 4:44 cuz you were too busy doing something idiotic.
Friday Links « MarketNet Blog Says:

November 23rd, 2009 at 12:55 pm

[...] Marketing Pilgrim: Cup of Joe: How Not to Go Viral and Look Like an Idiot [...]
April Sky Says:

November 25th, 2009 at 7:52 pm

I really appreciate this, thanks for the great share!

Marketing Pilgrim