During the last week, a senior detective in Novorossiysk, Russia named Alexei Dymovsky had a viral hit on YouTube with a series of videos (in Russian: 1, 2. With English subtitles: 1) complaining about working conditions, accusing officers of corruption, and claiming that he and other police were ordered to stage crimes in order to put innocent people in jail. Dymovsky was promptly fired, but the Russian government has since admitted that parts of the police have been turned into criminal businesses. More here and here.
posted by twoleftfeet on Nov 12, 2009 - 11 comments

This YouTube video seems to break my browser. Does it play alright for anyone else?
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Nov 6, 2009 - 45 comments

Ever dream this man? Every night throughout the world hundreds of people dream about this face. [more inside]
posted by logicpunk on Oct 15, 2009 - 139 comments

China's latest Internet obsession began with an anonymous post on a computer gaming forum: "Jia Junpeng, your mom is calling you to come home and eat." [more inside]
posted by tapeguy on Sep 6, 2009 - 34 comments

Brazil-based agency DDB BRASIL, contracted by the WWF to make an ad which would drive a "Respect the Planet" theme home, thought that making a 9/11 themed ad would be a good idea. After the video somehow makes it to the internet (some say it was leaked by the agency itself to win an award at Cannes), outrage predictably ensues. DDB Brasil insists the commercial was nothing but a rough draft and the WWF has not endorsed the ad made in their name, although evidence exists suggesting WWF Brazil endorsed a similar print ad a while back. Stupid, bad ad and a comedy of errors? Or the latest viral ad strategy?
posted by Effigy2000 on Sep 3, 2009 - 55 comments

What is The Institute for Human Continuity? Are you The One? Find out about the E.A.R.T.H. Initiative & Operation Safe Haven. Farewell Atlantis - fiction meets fact? As always there's another perspective. Oh yeah, and don't forget to see the movie.
posted by scalefree on Aug 26, 2009 - 35 comments

The Art of the Prank offers insights, information, news and discussions about pranks, hoaxes, culture jamming and reality hacking around the world. Includes topics such as The History of Pranks, The Prank As Art, and the Sociology and Psychology of Pranks. Get pranking. [more inside]
posted by netbros on Aug 24, 2009 - 16 comments

28 years ago they came to Earth. Explore the world of District 9. Consider a career with Multi-National United. Find out about enhancing your math skills with DNA from outer space. Play the game. And learn the truth behind the lies.
posted by scalefree on Jul 13, 2009 - 120 comments

Is Your Soul Weighing You Down? Store It! Or, if you're tired of your own soul, try a new one on for size! Er... uh oh. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jul 10, 2009 - 37 comments

A nice stop motion video with sticky notes.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jun 11, 2009 - 10 comments

Top 60 Ghetto Black Names (MLYT) [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Jun 4, 2009 - 292 comments

What's In The Box? (SLYT) (Via) [more inside]
posted by 3.2.3 on Apr 14, 2009 - 58 comments

The creators of the subservient chicken look back on how it all came to be. As seen on MetaFilter 5 years ago today.
posted by billyfleetwood on Apr 7, 2009 - 33 comments

I'm On a Boat, Featuring T-pain (NSFWork or Landlubbers) [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Feb 10, 2009 - 56 comments

CollegeHumor, which peddles fraternity pranks and workplace stunts to an online audience of millions, is making the move to television this Sunday. [more inside]
posted by Potomac Avenue on Feb 5, 2009 - 47 comments

Who watches the Watchmen? The New Frontiersman for one. A neat viral site for the upcoming movie. [more inside]
posted by P.o.B. on Jan 27, 2009 - 30 comments

Despite the much-maligned economy, people are seemingly starting the holiday season early this year in Loveland, Colorado by "paying it forward" for strangers' coffee at a Starbucks drive-through. This has happened in 2006 and similar events were debated last year on the blue, which led me to believe it was not a real phenomenon. CNN has the video version of the first link with interviews of those involved. Maybe it's not a PR stunt after all.
posted by knile on Nov 18, 2008 - 75 comments

Oregon prof's immunology research produces viral video. "We were all amazed ... like 'wow, look at the shrimp go!'"
posted by nickyskye on Nov 4, 2008 - 21 comments

Don't vote.
posted by OverlappingElvis on Oct 2, 2008 - 94 comments

Rusty Shackleford over at right-wing anti-Muslim jihad blog The Jawa Report has posted that the Obama campaign, in an effort to portray Sarah Palin a member of the secessionist Alaska Independence Party, is engaged in a smear campaign through the use of viral video and astroturf techniques on You Tube. [more inside]
posted by Skygazer on Sep 24, 2008 - 73 comments

Hey Meta,

Just saw a news report that you were on. Cool! Here is the link.

Best,

gnfti
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jul 11, 2008 - 62 comments

KnowHow2Go wants you to take on the tough classes - such as Biology, Foreign Languages, and Algebra II - to prepare yourself for college.
posted by divabat on May 26, 2008 - 31 comments

YouTube on YouTube . . .
posted by huckhound on May 20, 2008 - 11 comments

Captain Disillusion has created a series of videos that provide a skeptical analysis of sensational viral videos. One in particular, “Gas Station Ghost RECUT” addresses an unusual image caught on a gas station surveillance camera.
posted by Tube on Mar 9, 2008 - 33 comments

Amusing promotion for the new series Breaking Bad. (cortex, I hope you don't mind)
posted by Locative on Mar 1, 2008 - 17 comments

What do a balding man with a unique talent, shopping carts, and Extended Validation SSL Certificates have in common? Well, this: Liberty Fillmore: The Cart Whisperer (YT). Won't you think of the carts and visit No More Abandoned Carts today?
posted by schleppo on Feb 28, 2008 - 10 comments

John.He.Is turns John McCain quotes into a beautiful song. Two suburban women sit around discussing whether or not America is ready for a smart President. Filmmakers get ready to release Barackula: The Musical. Rap musician BigHitBuda drops Elect Obama. [more inside]
posted by billysumday on Feb 11, 2008 - 35 comments

"I'm going to kill myself in 90 days." A blogger calling herself "Jane" sets up a blog to chronicle her final 90 days, and is calling on the internet for suggestions on how to do it. Disturbed blogger? Or another "viral campaign" for something soon to be revealed? [more inside]
posted by revmitcz on Feb 10, 2008 - 291 comments

Kick A Migrant!
posted by goo on Feb 9, 2008 - 69 comments

So you remember that 'dumb, totally fake' video of a bird pooping in a reporter's mouth that was posted and deleted a week ago? It's meta-fake. Maybe even pata-fake.
posted by blasdelf on Feb 1, 2008 - 40 comments

It's an advert for chocolate. It's a man in a gorilla suit drumming to a track by Philip Collins Ltd. It's been very popular. It's won awards. It's been spoofed. And it's been mashed-up... some bad (Metalica (sic), ACDC, Guns and Roses), some good (Bonnie Tyler, Subsource, A Skillz, Bon Jovi, Deep Purple, Nirvana) and some utterly sublime ('Enders, Bodyrockers, Cameo). But great adverts don't always equal great sales. Bonus: Monkey Drummer. (Previously)
posted by fearfulsymmetry on Dec 23, 2007 - 38 comments

Viral marketing for The Dark Knight kicks it up a notch. The Gotham Times -- Joker's Take -- A Safer Gotham -- Gotham National Bank -- Gotham Police -- Gotham City Rail -- Victim of Crime -- Harvey Dent for DA -- Wanted: Henchman
posted by flarbuse on Nov 26, 2007 - 25 comments

"Satire with the Blessing of Lady Luck Herself" is a review of Black20, the comedy site that started when a couple of disenchanted NBC writers decided to go off on their own. Why were they lucky? They made their startup budget by gambling everything they had at roulette, and won. They have produced a number of shows and viral videos that you might enjoy, such as Wheels , Sheffield Quigley: Professional Myspace Photographer, Bathroom Adventure, (pt. 2), Phortal, and Percussion Eruption.
posted by farishta on Nov 18, 2007 - 12 comments

Coudal Partners is a Web / Media / Design studio in Chicago on which the following popped up: Steve Delahoyde's Regrets. Clicking through there were five others which are equally as funny as they are depressing: Boxes, Hobbies (regrets), Racism, Spoons, Kids.
posted by lonemantis on Sep 4, 2007 - 24 comments

Camp Okutta: give your child a summer to remember!
posted by generichuman on Aug 22, 2007 - 35 comments

The most cruel viral ad campaign yet. Give your friend the experience of being stalked by a serial killer. Make sure to preview the very slick customized video generated first, before you decide whether you really want to do this to someone you like. [Yes, yes, viral advertising for some FX show, also Flash]
posted by blahblahblah on Aug 14, 2007 - 38 comments

Parody is... also a sincere form of flattery, in the advertising biz. Sonic's ad agency, after a couple of dud trys at viral marketing to complement their popular campaign, decides instead to jump on all the parodies that people are posting on YouTube, then recognize some of the better ones, also on YouTube.
posted by dammitjim on Jul 26, 2007 - 55 comments

Hey look, the Cerne Abbas giant has a buddy. Unamused pagans wish for rain.
posted by goodnewsfortheinsane on Jul 17, 2007 - 44 comments

It's just a teaser trailer for a monster movie, but people (geeks) are going crazy trying to figure out what it's about. It may or may not have some ambiguous viral marketing associated with it (previously). Some think it's Cthulhu come to destroy New York, some think it's Voltron. Other less sensible people think it's a lion. It is definitely not a lion.
posted by jiiota on Jul 11, 2007 - 122 comments

Fearless experimenters viral marketers Web 2.0 Effect get pwned.
posted by doublesix on Jul 6, 2007 - 13 comments

Finding it hard to get out of bed this morning? You might consider building your own Rube Goldberg Alarm Clock. (3:17 video)
posted by ColdChef on May 6, 2007 - 26 comments

Viral Marketing Suggestions. At one time, when YouTube was new, ordinary people filled it with interesting content. But only 3 years later, after television content producers have forced them to remove millions of copyrighted video clips, we are starting to see an even more insidious phenomenon: the posting of "phony" videos on YouTube, for marketing purposes. NBC has just been caught posting a bogus parody of their show "Heroes". Not to mention Agency.com's pathetic attempt to get an ad contract with Subway, lonelygirl15, and many more that have yet to be discovered. Best of all, you can now find how-to instructions on marketing websites showing how to use YouTube for viral marketing. People are starting to notice....yet it is becoming more and more commonplace. (And I won't even mention how many MySpace and Facebook pages are viral in nature.)
posted by metasonix on Mar 11, 2007 - 36 comments

Calvin Klein is releasing a new fragrance for our "technosexual" generation: A typical line from the press materials for CK in2u goes like this: “She likes how he blogs, her texts turn him on. It’s intense. For right now.
posted by monaco on Mar 8, 2007 - 65 comments

The bastard offspring of Borat and Inspector Clouseau shares his insights on internet marketing, the time to take action, the correct use of videos (!!) and plenty more. Warning: his website crashed my browser.
posted by unSane on Feb 14, 2007 - 15 comments

I Am Trying to Believe. Well, maybe not. (Previously: Best, shortest review of a NIN cd, ever.)
posted by loquacious on Feb 13, 2007 - 59 comments

Geni. Family Tree 2.0. [via]
posted by muckster on Jan 16, 2007 - 25 comments

Best Viral Videos 2006.
posted by hama7 on Dec 14, 2006 - 40 comments

Rolling Rock is sorry for their offensive new ad. Never mind that no one was complaining about the ad because they never aired it-- they are spending millions on radio, web and print media to let you a) see the ad b) understand how terrible it is and c) know how very, very sorry they are to have made it. The recently bought out Rolling Rock brand is hoping this manufactured controversy will somehow convince people to drink their beer.
posted by justkevin on Dec 1, 2006 - 110 comments

PermaPuppies - they never get big. Spoof commercial biotech site is just viral advertizing for Michael Crichton's new book, but some of the ads are fun.
posted by CunningLinguist on Nov 30, 2006 - 27 comments

SomethingAwful is trying to create another viral campaign via blogs, youtube and myspace and ytmd. It surrounds an especially freaky spinoff of a simpsons video made for reasons unknown. SA has been noted in the past for making the "popped collar" viral campaign as well. Expect animated gifs and crackpot references galore. Of course, be wary of attempts to mask this great scheme (nsfw). Of course, Team Barry is always one to expose.
posted by Dean Keaton on Aug 6, 2006 - 50 comments