Denuo - denuology.com

I come from the school of thought that ads should have some level of utility. Not just from the goal of trying to get people’s attention in a very fragmented and saturated advertising world, but in a weird “we owe them at least that much” way. If someone is asking for your time/interest, the least they could do is provide you with something. I don’t mean that an ad has to say “here is a tip on how to refloor your kitchen on a budget. PS, switch to AT&T.” Utility can take a variety of forms, be it entertainment, information, a technology, or, the newest one I have come across, giving you money to gamble on sports.

After seeing Parry Gripp’s latest viral hit, Spaghetti Cat, I realized that he’s gotten really good at two key elements of viral hits:  cute animals and catchy music.  So what are the others, you ask?  I’ll detail each of them with examples below.  While I’d love to see (or create) a video that contains all ten, most “hits” only feature a perfect execution of one of these components.
Note:  This list is for viral videos in general, not specific to branded efforts.

I wish I had more examples handy, but I’ll start with one. Went to NYC for a weekend recently and found this in a subway car:

I commend the media buyers and traffickers for a timely ad placement.

Last week I popped in my local neighborhood Arby’s to pick up a delightful lunch. As I was walking in, I saw a sign in the window advertising 5 regular roast beef sandwiches for $5.49 (or something close). As a pretty savvy investor I realized what an amazing deal that was. The sandwiches are good cold so I can just pop ‘em in the work fridge and I have an easy cheap lunch option for the week. Done and Done.