So Bad, It’s Good
Bedrooms.
Dinettes. Oh yeah.
One of this week’s topics in COM 6610 was viral videos—their origins, what characteristics make a video go viral, and how viral videos can help or harm your organization’s reputation. In a TED talk from 2011, YouTube’s Head of Culture & Trend’s Kevin Allocca says there are three things that make a YouTube video go viral. They are tastemakers, communities of participation, and unexpectedness (Allocca, 2011).
Tastemakers, Allocca says, “introduce us to new and interesting things and bring them to a larger audience (Allocca, 2011). They take a point of view and share it with a larger audience, which in turn increases the sharing to trigger the video’s viral-ness. Tastemakers can be celebrities, sports figures, influences, and other well-known individuals who have large online followings.
Communities of participation allow us to become part of the viral phenomenon, making the entertainment a two-way process where the audience can also participate by sharing or making something new (Allocca, 2011). People can make and upload parodies, alternate versions, or reviews of the viral videos, making themselves part of the story.
Unexpectedness is the third characteristic. “In a world where over two days of video get uploaded every minute,” says Allocca, “only that which is truly unique and unexpected can stand out” (Allocca, 2011). There is really no rhyme or reason why content from one video goes viral, while similar content from another does not.
So, what if the unexpectedness of a viral video is its inherent badness? You could assume that something that was bad would harm a business or organization. But what happens when the video is so bad…it’s good for business?
In 2006, Sammy Stephens owned Flea Market Montgomery, a furniture store in Montgomery, AL. He created a commercial to advertise his business. You have probably seen it—it's the one where
Stephens raps an original jingle about the products available at Flea Market Montgomery.
Here is a sample of the lyrics:
Living rooms, bedrooms, dinettes, oh yeah
You can find 'em at the market
We talkin' 'bout Flea Market Montgomery
It's just like it's just like a mini mall
Oh yeah
Come shop with us, I said Flea Market Montgomery
It's just like, it's just like a mini mall
Hey hey, you heard me, come shop
Living rooms, bedrooms, dinettes we've got it
You need it you'll find it
It's just like, it's just like a mini mall
Hey hey, you heard me, come shop
I said, Flea Market Montgomery
It's just like, it's just like a mini mall (Genius, n.d.)
It was cringeworthy—but catchy. The video became one of the first videos to go viral on the internet after being mentioned on the talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show. As its popularity grew, Stephens was invited on the Ellen show to talk about his commercial. Customers began to appear at Flea Market Montgomery, although some were not there for living rooms or dinettes—they were there to meet Stephens (“Flea Market Montgomery”, 2015). His commercial was featured on an episode of The Office, The Cleveland Show, and Reno 911 (O’Kane, 2016). He did commercials for other local businesses and car dealerships and starred in an ad campaign that aired in movie theaters all over the United States (“Flea Market Montgomery,” 2015). He partnered with Pokémon for an updated version of his rap in advance of the popular Pokémon Go game. He even made the jump into politics—in 2016, Bernie Sanders’ campaign team tried to capture Stephens’ viral quality once again by having him remix his signature rap Bernie-style. It was viewed 512,000 times on Sanders’ 2016 campaign Facebook page (Heupel, 2016).
His commercial, highly disseminated across the internet because of its very badness, was making Stephens a success. He eventually sold Flea Market Montgomery and went into advertising. He has been a spokesperson for several promotional campaigns, had a weekly radio show, reality television, and book offers. Although Stephens was not able to make money off the YouTube video (YouTube had not begun monetizing at that point), he regularly receives royalty checks from reruns of shows it was featured in ("Flea Market Montgomery”, 2015).
The original Flea Market Montgomery YouTube video has been viewed over 12 million times (teedadawg, 2006).
In this scenario, Ellen DeGeneres was the tastemaker that introduced the video to a wider audience. That audience because the community of participation as they shared the video to take it viral. Stephens himself was part of the community himself, taking his original rap and making it new in diverse ways. The unexpectedness was the sheer confidence it took to release the video as a commercial in the first place.
Rebecca Black’s “Friday”, which was mentioned in Allocca’s TED talk, is another example of a video so bad it goes viral. In 2011, Black’s mother agreed to spend $4,000 with an entertainment company to produce a single and music video for the 13-year-old aspiring pop star (Honore, 2021). It shot to viral status when Tosh.0 shared it on his television show (Allocca, 2011). It has currently been viewed over 155 million times on YouTube (rebecca, 2011).
At the time, the video gained significant criticism for its overly auto-tuned production and inane lyrics—the press at the time called it one of the “worst songs ever” (McLevy, 2021).
A sample:
Yesterday was Thursday, Thursday
Today is Friday, Friday (Partyin')
We, we, we so excited, we so excited (Partyin')
We gonna have a ball today
Tomorrow is Saturday and Sunday comes afterwards (Genius, n.d.)
Despite lyrics like those (well, actually, because of them) Black’s debut single landed on an episode of Glee (Goldberg, 2011). She made a guest appearance as herself in Katy Perry’s video “Last Friday Night (TGIF)” (Powers, 2011). Black has since released several additional singles and projects, which have received more positive reviews (McLevy, 2021).
These videos were both so bad they became viral, but they turned out to be catalysts to both Stephens and Black’s future careers. While a “so bad it’s good” approach to a viral video might not work as well on a more serious organization—one that does not hawk living rooms, bedrooms, dinettes, or Fridays—it's certainly one way for someone to catapult themselves into internet infamy.
Oh yeah.
References:
Allocca, K. (2011, November). Why videos go viral [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/kevin_allocca_why_videos_go_viral
Flea Market Montgomery star still waiting for cheque from YouTube. (2015, June 17). 9news. https://www.9news.com.au/9stories/flea-market-montgomery-star-still-waiting-for-cheque-from-youtube/37e0f5c2-eae5-4aa9-83f5-4d48fb410a14
Genius (n.d.). Friday. Genius. https://genius.com/Rebecca-black-friday-lyrics
Genius (n.d.). It’s Just Like A Mini-mall (commercial Version). Genius. https://genius.com/Sammy-stephens-its-just-like-a-mini-mall-commercial-version-lyrics
Heupel, S. (2016, July 2016). Sammy Stephens sings PokéRAP in new video. Montgomery Advertiser. https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2016/07/20/sammy-stephens-sings-pokrap-new-video/87322370/
Honore, P. (2021, February 10). 'Friday' Singer Rebecca Black Isn't a Millionaire, but Her Net Worth Proves She's Halfway There. Distractify. https://www.distractify.com/p/how-much-is-rebecca-black-worth
McLevy, A. (2021, June 16). "Friday"'s over: Rebecca Black's new music is genuinely great. AV Club. https://www.avclub.com/friday-s-over-rebecca-blacks-new-music-is-genuinely-g-1847112849
O’Kane, S. (2016, April 19). Why a Bernie Sanders supporter revived a 10-year-old meme. The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/tldr/2016/4/19/11463704/bernie-sanders-meme-sammy-stephens-mini-mall-viral-video
[rebecca]. (2011, September 16). Rebecca Black - Friday [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfVsfOSbJY0
[teedadawg]. (2006, November 30). Flea Market Montgomery - Long Version [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3oHpup-pk
Powers, L. (2011, June 8). "Rebecca Black Sneaks Into Katy Perry's 'Last Friday Night' Teaser". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/viral-videos/470803/rebecca-black-sneaks-into-katy-perrys-last-friday-night-teaser
Goldberg, L. (May 9, 2011). "'Glee' Cover of Rebecca Black's 'Friday,' Explained". Billboard. https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/471658/glee-cover-of-rebecca-blacks-friday-explained
Taylor,
ReplyDeleteWhen I read your blog's title, I was not expecting to know exactly who and what you were talking about. I went to college and lived in Montgomery, AL, for over 12 years. I know this commercial and store all too well. Even when reading the lyrics, I can vividly see the commercial and hear the melody playing.
You are right. Some of the best-constructed videos with substantial content have not reached the level of viral-ness due to the lack of a tastemaker or primary influencer promoting the video. The Montgomery Flea Market video had a catchy jingle but would have never received national attention if not for Ellen DeGeneres viewing it privately and airing it on her nationally syndicated television show.
I think tastemakers and influencers must be fully aware of the power their influence has on an audience. They should make it their duty not to bring attention to insensitive or damaging content that can persuade the masses. Their platforms should be used to encourage, motivate, inspire and bring awareness to causes that make a difference in the society of a positive force.
Great read!
Taylor,
ReplyDeletewhile I was looking around your site and I came across your blog and I took the time out to read and understand you as a person. And I seen that you recently stayed in AL for a period of time and and I stay out here now for school and football and it is really different from New York City where I'm originally from. It is nothing like New York everything is slower out here it is harder to get around if you do not have a car. It is also really nice out here to the weather is a lot warmer here than it is in New York even around this time of year. So there is a lot of good things that come with living out here live the cost of living is a lot cheaper here than New York the amount of money you would pay for an apartment out there could get you an even bigger one out here or even rent a house. So when you mentioned that you lived in Montgomery that was the first thing that came to mind is my experience that I had over the past few months here.