Dear Client, Viral is Accidental

Yes, it's funny. Yes, it's scary. And it's that same terrified laughter that helped it reach official "viral" status on YouTube. That, and the miniature, metal unicorn. Of course, I'm referring to Malwart's clown ad. Here. Add one more click to the 1.5 million:

One point five million. Astonishing, isn't it? Even more astonishing is the fact that the creative team conjured this gem after receiving what was surely another recession-friendly, price-focused, big box creative brief. I'd imagine it went something like this:

:30 TV
Objective: Increase sales and drive traffic.
Audience: People who like to save money and live better.
Key message: Walmart has everything you need for family fun at a great price.

Notice how the brief did not say, "create a viral video." In fact, it started its life as a TV spot. So, other than uploading it to YouTube, how did it go viral?

First of all, the client trusted the agency enough to produce the spot in the first place. Compared to their normal line up of savings-focused white noise, this doozy sticks out like a sore clown foot. But that's not what made it viral.

Maybe it was the artful (and eerily ironic) homage to Pennywise the clown and his coulrophobia-inducing antics? That definitely had something to do with it. But that's not it, either.

It's definitely not the animated tagline and mom voiceover. That much, I know for sure.

So, what is it? What made it go viral? I wish I knew.

Moral of the story: viral is accidental. You can use common viral techniques like humor and pain and insane talent. But, in the end, it's up to the viewers to hit the forward button.