The way in which the machine amplifies the beat and even plays the tune at times, with falling pianos and blasting paint guns perfectly synched to audio, is deeply impressive. So too is the way in which the band becomes an integral part of the machine - watch at 2:50 as one of the band members gets thrown backwards by the machine, and then the final glorious sequence where the guys take a paintball straight to the face (and judging from their paint-stained overalls this took a good few takes to perfect). A music video: yes. A classic viral from the meme machine that is OK Go: without a doubt. And also a beautifully crafted, meticulously executed piece of performance art. Don't let it pass you by!

How Brands Can Communicate with Silver Surfers

To begin, I ask Peter whether brands should be giving older people access to services and opportunities online, or whether it’s not appropriate for the older age group. Peter’s response is that though there aren’t as many older people online as there could be, ‘for those that are comfortable using the internet, it’s good that they are starting to have these choices, because they could make life easier’. So, if a brand is offering a service online, what is the best way for them to help older people to discover and use that service? He points out that while older people may be comfortable with what they know online, ‘anything different will start to introduce a Fear Factor – so brands must make sure they can communicate the way the service is to be used simply and clearly ... a good way to do this is through a simple and straightforward how to video, with large clear screen images so that the steps can be followed simply, one at a time. Using online video automatically filters the audience down to only those people who are already comfortable using the internet, and therefore are unlikely to be confused by the content, as long as it is straightforward’.

A Case In Point from the DVLA

‘This is a five star example’, Peter says, explaining that although the video is complex enough to intimidate people who aren’t already online, ‘it is practical and does a very good job of showing clearly and simply how to go about the process for people who are already using the internet’.

Driving for the Elderly

The DVLA video leads the conversation on to a discussion about driving for the elderly, where Peter explains that he thinks it important to stop and think about your driving ability as you get older, and asking people to renew licenses at seventy is a great way to get people to do this. ‘When I reached seventy, I decided to take an advanced driving test to confirm that my reactions were as good as I thought, and that I wouldn’t be endangering anyone on the roads’ he continues. While he believes most, like him, know their limitations and will set their own restrictions (such as not driving in the dark or the fog), there will be some who aren’t competent – and ‘if you’re not willing to put yourself to the test, perhaps someone else should be appointed to test you’.

Interestingly, Peter also contrasted the inability of the old with the inexperience of the young: ‘shouldn’t something also be being done about the much more dangerous 17-20 age group? In biking,’ (another of Peter’s passions) ‘size restrictions are placed on motorbikes for younger drivers – perhaps something like this should be introduced for driving’? In fact, the Institute of Advanced Motorists say that the 8% of UK drivers over 70 were involved in just 4% of all injury accidents, while the 15% of drivers in their teens and twenties accounted for 34%.

Peter is glad that the DVLA is giving people an opportunity to renew their driving license at 70, because he believes that driving is, for the elderly, an almost essential tool. He says, ‘many older people live in villages where there is poor public transport and aren’t lucky enough to have family members or friends on hand to take them around. Thousands of people’s lives would be made very much poorer if they were not able to drive’.

As many will know, Peter is a true online video celebrity: creating his first YouTube video on 5^th August 2006, he shot to the #1 spot on YouTube within the week, receiving international media coverage not only in the early view-booming days, but also when his microwave meal ‘cookalong’ hit proved more popular than Gordon Ramsay’s. Geriatric1927 currently has over eight million upload views, and I was delighted to speak to the person behind the channel on Monday about his life, his motivations, his passions, his fame and of course, his videos. Here are some of the highlights.

Why YouTube?

Of course the first thing I asked Peter about was how he got in to YouTube in the first place. He explained that after becoming a widower, he wanted to access the world, meet new people and find penfriends – but without disrupting his ‘reclusive life’ behind the screen. The internet was a natural choice, and he started off in chatrooms – but soon realised they were almost exclusively full of teenagers and not quite the right environments for him.

Peter has always been an adventurous person, keen to tackle new and unusual challenges. When he was in his 60s, he took an Art GCSE course at the local secondary school in a class of 15 and 16 year olds, and went on to complete his A Level and Art Foundation courses in similar youth environments: communication with young people has been something he’s enjoyed for years. His interest in art and photography soon led him to research video and see what he could do with that. He sat down at his computer in August 2006 to Google ‘video’, and suddenly found himself in the middle of the world of YouTube. The first thing he did, once he realised his computer already had the software he needed to create video, was upload one of his own to test the waters. Of course, that’s when the media picked it up, and the rest is history!

Who is Geriatric1987?

While the sudden influx of media attention was worrying for Peter from a privacy perspective, he explained, ‘The Daily Mail used the headline ‘The Internet Grandad’, and I have adopted that character as my own ... many young people speak to me in the way they would to their own grandad if they were able to, telling me their worries’. He maintains a dialogue with many of his virtual ‘grandchildren’ and values their friendship – the headline attached to his first ever upload really has shaped his online persona.

Geriatric1927 has a wide audience spectrum: youngsters watch, middle aged people watch, and of course ‘us old YouTubers all watch each other’. Peter is a great advocate of intergenerational communication, and sees the internet as a way to bridge the gap between generations, allowing sharing, collaboration and communication between young and old.  As well as maintaining a dialogue with young people in a grandad-style capacity, he has also encouraged older people to tackle the medium and the space, collaborating with Bruce of the You Are Never Too Old Technology Company in the US,  and with the UK government’s Digital Inclusion project, whose aims include increasing the number of older people using broadband.

Silver Surfers

Increasing the number of older people online is one of Peter’s greatest challenges, and he believes the solution will often require the one-to-one efforts of family members, appealing to his YouTube audience to help their parents and grandparents to feel comfortable online. His view is that the greatest challenge for the elderly online is the Fear Factor: ‘they are afraid of the internet ... it all seems too complicated; like there is so much to learn’. He often uses a car analogy when introducing people to computers – ‘you don’t have to know the mechanics of how a car works to drive one. Computers are similar’.

Peter spoke of the great importance communication has for older people, and the ways that the internet can facilitate this conversation, ‘the internet is great for communication. For example, Skype, YouTube – these things are wonderful’. He is a huge advocate of giving older people the opportunity to discover the opportunities that exist online, and he believes the steps brands are currently taking to open up services for the elderly online can’t be anything but positive. You can read more about this in the next post, Geriatric1927 on Silver Surfers.

Thank you, Peter, it was a pleasure to chat with you!

Suspense, high drama, and self-promotional spectacle are at the core of official Apple unveilings, with the sense of anticipation and historical significance heightened by Steve Jobs' compelling on-stage presence. He scarpes into the top 10 of the Apple Virals Chart, unveiling the iPad. Significantly, though, the mash up of his iPad keynote speech, satirizing Apple’s insane levels of self-promotion, has been re-posted over 2,300 times and has generated far more buzz than the original. A grainy video recording of Steve Jobs officially unveiling the Apple Macintosh in 1984 may have garnered over 1 million views, but Mad TV's fake Steve Jobs has had over 7 million hits for the political parody, Apple Presents the iRack. Mad TV has long led the field when it comes to producing spoof ads for non-existent iProducts - their predicted launch of the iPad back in 2007 is at #2 in the chart, though they never did explain how the vaginal firewall worked...

It is precisely Apple's susceptibilty to spoof and satire that holds the key to the brand's viral success. Because their ads are as iconic and as polarising as the products they promote, they lend themselves to imitation and derivation, with fans and detractors alike re-working and re-imagining Apple's unique iconography and distinctive tone, usually for comic or satirical purposes, as they create their own subversions of iconic Apple moments: the spoof iPhone ad for stalkers and the Mac vs PC spoof, Sony PS3 vs Wii are just two of the better known examples. Apple’s notoriously tight-lipped approach when it comes to talking to the media also helps to explain the fascination that the brand holds within online viral culture: Apple’s official silence provides a vacuum which video makers are all too happy to fill with rumours and speculation. And the easy self-assurance of official ads such as There’s An App for That is an open invitation to puncture a brand ego that borders on the arrogant.

Constructing  a typology of iVirals is one way to begin exploring how the brand capitalises on the viral loop and is in turn co-opted and re-branded by an innovative, creative, future-facing community of viral producers and agents who delight in consuming Apple ads and then re-packaging them for their peers - not for cash, but for kudos and for kicks. So what types of iviral tend get produced and passed around? Before launch, expect to see fake unveilings and leaks, and a resurgence in viewing and sharing of previous iVirals. Following the video of the official unveiling (which will trend fast, then fall way as quickly), expect to see a TV spot that moves online and prepares the ground for a raft of parodies, including re-contextualisations and animated versions of the original ad. There's another category, which could be described as Apple Fetish Virals, where the video trades on the passion that Apple products inspire in their users. Will It Blend - iPhone, How to Charge an iPod Using an Onion, and Best iPhone Costume Ever are the classic clips in this category.

The #1 Apple viral, measured by pass on, is Hitler Responds to the iPad, part of the video deluge that flooded the internets in the wake of the iPad launch. What’s interesting about the iPad launch, though, is not the sheer volume of viral activity that it triggered; it’s the change in tone that marks so many of the viral responses to the launch. Where once there was awe, there’s an Ack for that now. The prevailing mood is one of admonition rather than sly admiration, derision rather than the usual grudging deification that Steve Jobs and the Apple brand evoke. Take the Hitler clip:  in one sense, this is a fairly predictable viral hit, mashing up two well-worn and widely-recognised viral grooves - the Downfall parody and the iSpoof - to create a 4 min nugget of viral gold. What’s new, though, is the disappointment in the brand that the video conveys. “Stupid iPad” says Hitler in the subtitles, a sentiment that echoes round the other iPad virals and marks a watershed moment in the relationship between Apple and its online audience: the moment when the halo slipped and the hero brand began to seem a little, dare I say it, lame.

1. Hitler Responds to the iPad 10,136 tweets and posts

2. Apple iPad Mad TV Spoof 3,927 tweets and posts

3. 1984 Superbowl Commercial 3,453 tweets and posts

4. Will it Blend? iPhone 3,005 tweets and posts

5. iGun Road Rage  2,607 tweets and posts

6. iPad keynote in 180 Seconds 2,436 tweets and posts

7. iPhone Ad for Stalkers 2,058 tweets and posts

8. Official iPad Unveiling 1,986 tweets and posts

9. Apple iRack Parody 1,951 tweets and posts

10. Official iPad Promo Video 1,945 tweets and posts

Data correct as of 18 February 2010

You can find out more about the campaign here, and look out for 2 more animations in the series  - due to be released soon.

The recent success of this video has inspired me to dive deep into the archives of YouTube and the Viral Video Chart, in order to unearth some Star Wars viral gems. Here, in no particular order, are the fruits of my research:

Star Wars According to a Three Year Old- 2008

It's clear from recent viral hits such as David After The Dentist that cool kids, doing funny stuff is viral gold. This clip personifies this, Star War style. I particularly love the line: Don't talk back to Darth Vader, he'll get ya.. This lovely little lady, quite rightly remarks: It's a very exciting movie..

Star Wars Kid- 2003

This video clip is a viral classic, spawning numerous parodies and kick-starting the trend of kids gaining internet noteriety from their crazy antics. The clip below explains why Star Wars Kid was such a smash hit:

Dance Off with the Star Wars Stars- 2008

To quote Unruly's Sarah Wood, the "funny dance" is an irrepressible uber meme in a constant state of creative evolution (point in case, Evolution of Dance). Add a little bit Star Wars magic to this cultural phenomenon, and you have a brilliant, and hugely popular, video clip which has masses of viral appeal. 

Lego Star Wars 2006

Lego imitating real life has been a long- running, popular viral theme. We have had Lego Michael Jackson; Lego The Simpsons; Lego Man Makes Prank Call; Lego Batman/ Spiderman, the list goes on. Star Wars-Gets-the-Lego-Treatment is particularly funny, and so brilliant that it has become a bit of a meme in itself:

This is perhaps one of my favourite Star Wars virals, so cute, so geeky, so brilliant!! I particularly like the part where the two Ewoks enter the elevator and are swiftly kicked out by Darth Vader!! Jabba's contribution is also awesome!!

I couldn't write this post without giving a nod in the direction of Star Wars Facebook Updates. Whilst these do not pertain to viral videos, they are simply mega!! My favourite is Hans Solo's somewhat arrogant exchange with Princess Leia, and Chewbacca's coincidental heartbreak! Enjoy!!

MoneyFace

Verb: to moneyface= moneyface/ mun-nae-fae-ss/ face comprised of money:

When one moneyfaces, one places a creased banknote in front of one’s face and takes a photograph. This photograph reveals a new “hybrid face” of the subject fused with the famous person depicted on the currency bill.

This meme is thought to have first appeared late last year on Todaysbigthing and then again on Buzzfeed, with banknotes from as far afield as the USA and Singapore becoming unwitting accessories to the craze.

This meme is a variation of the previous and very popular meme- Sleevefacing- where people obscure their faces with iconic album covers in order to produce a new image of themselves, sporting the famous artist's head, as featured on RocketBoom, here.

 Sleeveface's viral appeal grew throughout 2008, and the radio station, Smooth Radio, tapped into its popularity and used it as a creative concept for their Love Life, Love Music ad campaign in April 2008.

Moneyface - like it's predecessor, Sleeveface - is part of a broader meme which sees subjects distorting their face in some way to produce an interesting or humorous end result. Another interesting point in case is Fingerstache:

Moneyface and Fingerstache are crying out to be used in an ad campaign - they have that 'so hot right now' factor, which is, of course, the backbone of good viral. 

10: Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie

This delightful gem of a video is a little piece of stop-motion genius. Its heartwarming charm is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face. Not only did it make the Top Ten in the Viral Video Chart; it was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of "Best Short Form Music Video".

9: JK Wedding Dance Entry

A piece of viral heaven!! It seems that many of you passed on this very funny video with gusto!! And why not? Everyone deserves a lesson in how to do 'Getting Married' the truly unforgettable way!!

8: I'm Yours (Ukulele)

So what do you suppose is the number one reason for sharing videos? Humour? The desire to make others smile? Of course, it is! And this is why this little slice of brilliance made the top ten this year: it is very, very funny!! I love the little 'itchy nose' thing he does throughout his rendition!!

7: Me Da Meu Chip Pedro. Manda Meu

This one doesn't make much sense unless you speak Portuguese, I'm afraid. Nonetheless, this Brazilian video was incredibly popular in 2009, spawning dozens of copycat videos, including this Obama-esque parody here.

6: Surprised Little Kitten

Somethings never go out of fashion. Cute kittens have long been a staple of online video culture, and this one is cuter than most.

5: Social Media Revolution

A powerful micro-documentary, which does a really good job at conveying the relevance of social media in the digital age. Surprising statistics coupled with Fat Boy Slim's, very apt, 'Right Here, Right Now' soundtrack saw this video clock up 12,00 tweets in 2009

4: The Muppets Bohemian Rhapsody

Animal's performance as Freddie Mercury is the stand-out act in this retrotastic queen of clips.

3: Susan Boyle in Britain's Got Talent

Unless you spent 2009 living on the Moon, you'll know that Susan Boyle conquered the entertainment world this year with her unexpected star turn on UK Talent Show, Britain's Got Talent.

2: Piano Stairs

This delightful piece for Volkswagen demonstrates that the simplest ideas are often the most effective, with the potential for massive viral appeal. Echoing the famous FAO Schwartz scene in Big, this video is sure to inspire similar pop up installations in cities across Europe. Can't wait until it comes to a tube station near me!!  

1: Lady Ga Ga- Bad Romance

This creative cacophony references everything under the sun, and perfectly mirrors Ga Ga's own eclectic and somewhat crazy style!! Oh, how we loved it...with nearly 50 million views, Twitter awash with Ga Ga activity and a place at the top of the Viral Video Chart for much longer than is considered normal, Bad Romance was one of the most talked about videos of 2009. We await, with bated breath, for more crazy Ga Ga in 2010.

btw here's what Reuters had to say about this year's chart when they came into the office to chat last week:

This little diddy is following in the rather successful footsteps of previous flashbulb phenomena, such as T Mobile's recent Life is for Sharing campaign. Here, though, we have the French Letter gospel choir singing their take on the traditional 12 Days of Christmas carol. Instead of all that 'partridge in a pear tree' and 'five gold rings' jazz, the traditional lyrics have been replaced with the recital of the possible - and rather uncomfortable - consequences one may face if choosing not to use a French Letter condom this festive season. Twelve trips to clinic, eleven areas itching, ten-der parts - you get the idea.

Of course this vid has that all important 'talkability' factor and the folks at Saatchi have done well to recognise the elements which make a cracking viral: parody, edginess and of course topicality.  French Letter condoms stand for fair trade as well as safe sex, and as such they bring a double dose of Christmas cheer to online viewers as well as Soho's clubbers.  So if you want to pass something on this Christmas, now's your chance.