Viral marketing news and other viral happenings in Denver Metro, Boulder and beyond.

Talking About the Weather – I have now lived in Colorado long enough that I am no longer surprised by the massive spring storms that inevitably pummel the Front Range. But I have to say that I still find the regular irregularity of the weather fascinating. In the past seven days we have seen beautiful 60-something degree weather and one of the biggest storms of the season. There is an odd YouTube subculture that captures such dramatic weather swings in the form of time-lapse video. Two such videos drew some attention this past week. The more popular of the two has better quality video, better music and nice placement of wind chimes in the foreground, but I find it kind of long. The  second is much lower quality video, but covers almost the same time span in a fifth of the time, and provides a nice view of the clouds in the sky. Watching the two, I would have to say that clouds are an essential ingredient of time lapse video. Here is the second:

What’s Not Happy About a Happy Meal? – Apparently, one thing that doesn’t look so interesting over time is a McDonalds Happy Meal. While some have agued that McDonalds’ food leads to anything but immortality, the food itself has remarkable staying power. That was the subject of a project and blog post undertaken by Colorado author Joann Bruso, who observed a Happy Meal over the course of a year and celebrated it’s first birthday several weeks ago. She wrote a blog post memorializing the anniversary, which has received quite a bit of coverage. The success of her project highlights the fact that a story doesn’t need a lot of pomp and circumstance to go viral if it is told sincerely and encapsulates a clear message.

Sixty Seconds, Forty Days – Several weeks back, I wrote about Ubuntu now’s Wall of Fame. That was a teeny bit interesting, but in retrospect they should have hired Denver agency Sukle Advertising and Design. The firm is responsible for creating a similar, but more compelling campaign to raise awareness and money for the cause of clean water for children around the world. The campaign is called the sixtyfortyproject, and allows a donor to post a message to one of two very public electronic billboards in downtown Denver in exchange for a donation of a dollar.  The name refers to the fact that a dollar buys sixty seconds of billboard time and  forty days of clean water for a child. Good cause and idea, but I’m surprised that there is not more of a web element to the project – it would garner much more attention (and money) if video of the billboards was displayed live on the web and if contributor’s messages were pushed out via Twitter and other channels.

Save the Tails! - While I can relate to the causes Bruso and Sukle’s are promoting, others mystify me. This Thursday there was a “save the animals” rally in Denver. But the animals in question are not the living and breathing kind, they are the animals painted on the tails of Frontier airplanes. Protesters were concerned that Frontier’s recent acquisition by Republic Airways may spell the end of the brand and it’s two-dimensional mascots. There is also a KEEP THE FRONTIER BRAND AND ANIMALS group on Facebook, with over 5,000 members. While I do see the event and group as a testament to branding, they also strike me as a colossal waste of energy and time.

In Longmont, Colorado Bar T’at – This one isn’t viral, but I can’t resist. The Denver Post did a story on Nature’s Casket, a business in Longmont that produces “green” coffins made out of beetle-killed Colorado pine. The coffins are part of a movement towards earth-friendly embalming and burial methods. Reading the article, I was immediately reminded of the song ‘On Ilkley Moor Bar T’at’. The song is the unofficial anthem of Yorkshire, England, and the lyrics are written in the old Yorkshire dialect. Here is a translation of the last few lines:

Then we will have to bury you
Then the worms will come and eat you up
Then the ducks will come and eat up the worms
Then we will go and eat up the ducks
Then we will have eaten you
That’s where we get our own back

I’m not sure if viral media and casket manufacturing go together, but a pine-beetle version of this song just has to be made. I will post what I come up with next week. Here is an interpretation of the original as sung by some of the lovely lads and lasses of Yorkshire:

Ring Girl Redux - Last month I mentioned how Colorado teen Conner Cordova had launched an all-out media campaign in order to land a senior prom date. The object of his obsession affection was UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste, who ultimately relented accepted. Well, I’m happy to report that the date did actually happen last Saturday night. The boy told Bill Husted of the Post that he got her number and “ended up getting a kiss, which was awesome.”

With Cordova’s penchant and savvy for media attention, he most certainly does have her number.

This is a weekly update, please comment if there are topics or items I have missed.