Top Viral Videos - March 2011

Common themes of humor, children and sports, as well as interactivity, highlighted many of the the 10 most-shared online videos tracked by Unruly Media during March 2011. For the second straight month, the top video was a Volkswagen ad originally aired during the February 2011 Super Bowl broadcast, featuring a little boy dressed as “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader and combining humor with feel-good cutesiness and pop culture.

Can’t Get Enough Roller Babies

The number nine video, another spot combining humor with adorable small children, is perennial favorite “Roller Babies” from French bottled water manufacturer Evian. Using CGI to create the appearance of infants on roller blades, this video has been included in the Top 10 viral video lists compiled by Unruly Media since October 2010.
In addition, a video of a St. Patrick’s Day flash mob that performed traditional Irish step dancing in a Sydney, Australia train station this year featured numerous children, as well as adult members of the “Riverdance” professional dance company.

Sports of All Types Draw Viewers

As is usually the case, sports-themed videos were also prominently featured on the March 2011 Top 10 list. A video of extreme biker Danny MacAskill and two videos featuring stunt driving from DC Shoes made the list (these also have been regulars on the Top 10 list for several months), as well as a video from adidas that includes sports of the extreme, amateur and professional varieties, as well as segments highlighting music, fashion and imagery that would suit an action film.

Interactive Humor Makes the Cut

Two videos combining interactivity with humor also were featured on the March 2011 top 10 viral video list. One, an ad for Skittles candy, invites the viewer to place their finger on the screen to be licked by a cat (with a twist ending). The other, an ad for European correction fluid Tipp-Ex, features two obnoxious hunters confronted by a bear, and lets the viewer choose their own ending. This video has also been featured on Top 10 viral video lists compiled by both Unruly Media and goviral.com in the past 12 months.

Top 10 Most-shared Online Videos February 2011

1. Volkswagen - Commercial: The Force
2. adidas - adidas is all in: 120 Edition
3. Skittles Touch: Cat
4. Danny MacAskill – Way Back Home
5. St. Patrick’s Day 2011 Flash Mob, Central Station, Sydney, Australia
6. DC Shoes - Ken Block’s Gymkhana Three, Part 2 – Ultimate Playground, L’Autodrome
7. Air New Zealand - Mile High Madness with Richard Simmons
8. DC Shoes – Ken Block’s Gymkhana Two, The Infomercial
9. Evian – Roller Babies
10. Tipp-Ex - A Hunter Shoots a Bear