The three rules of viral marketing

Okay – you know these already – your content has to be either:

Dangerous
Funny
Rude

If it’s none of these you have no chance.

Believe me – I’ve tried. And the bar is getting higher – you’ve got to be REALLY dangerous, funny or rude. It’s no good pulling your punches.

I feel really sorry for those people – or more accurately, their families – who feel it is their life’s mission to participate in some viral video which could easily cost them their life, or at least their dignity.

Why do they do it? They surely can’t care how much Red Bull or Coke is sold.

It’s all about themselves.

I’m not talking about those sad people who do stuff on YouTube that goes wrong, or that is incredibly stupid. It’s the sponsored daredevils and fools, who put their lives on the line for a corporate sponsor that secretly hopes it will all go wrong so they can milk it and gain maximum views.

I think the sponsors are walking on thin ice, and it’s only a matter of time before we see a court case brought by someone featured, or the family of someone involved, which will cause them to have a long hard look at the ROI of this sort of marketing.