Take a good look at this Flash Mob created by Malibu in NYC and then pause for a moment of silence, because that might just be the last promotional flash mob you’ll ever see! Don’t get me wrong, I think flash mobs were pretty cool in 2008 and even early 2009, the 10 or so really good ones each had millions (if not 10′s of millions) of views on YouTube. But as you’ll see with this attempted viral from Malibu, it’s all been done before (years before) and there is simply no unique “wow” factor left to attract the views that flash mobs previously did.
So with over a week worth of seeding and promotion, this flash mob video hasn’t even hit 100,000 views (something that previous videos hit in a few hours). Brands, Marketers, Agencies and PR firms can learn a great lesson from this… Viral is only viral when it’s original. Sure, you can jump on a trend and if you are one of the first few you’ll get amazing results, but when that trend was 2 years ago, you’ll end up with this…
It’s a shame really, because I actually like the video, the guy in the suit was great and the finish on the girls in the fountain was a nice touch. It’s just 2 years too late to generate the type of buzz they’d have been expecting, or, they needed to add about another 100+ dancers to increase the magnitude of the event.
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July 19th, 2010 at 4:10 am
As an Avant Unhipster, I hope they’re not dead. Haven’t seen one live in Stumptown yet, and I’d like to before they’re buried!
July 19th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Too many crane shots take away from the reality of it anyway. If you see right before the end, you can actually see a crane. I suspect everyone at the place was “in” the show.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:17 am
Funny, I saw this last night and was just thinking to myself I am not sure I like it. It was fun – but you are right, there was no wow factor. I think when they have a point they can stil relevant and engaging. I am just not sure what this one is all about and what the point is I am supposed to take away.
July 19th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
Well, well, there was no wow factor, but you are still writing about it, so there must be something there, I guess
It’s still a a nice video, greatly performed and executed and as we now all now, whether or not it gets viral doesn’t always depend on the content of the video.
July 19th, 2010 at 10:51 pm
I think flash mobs can still have potential – but as you say, not by simply repeating the same old things we’ve seen many times before.
Seems that random dancing is one of the more popular types. I was just thinking the other day about that Fatboy Slim video from 1999 – “Praise You”. Whilst obviously a set up music video, it seems to me to be a type of flash mob elements to it http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ULVQOneeZE
I think there’s plenty of creative things that brands could do that still generate interest at a local in-the-moment level as well as drive more viral following online. Who knows what… maybe it’s less “dancing in the street” and more “going out and topping out an entire city block’s parking meters” or “having hundreds of people dressed in one color/outfit having some pretend battle with people dressed in another color/outfit”
Whatever gets people interested, watching and most importantly – talking and sharing
July 20th, 2010 at 5:10 am
I agree with you Aden. It is an eye-catching and entertaining flash mob, but the problem is that it doesn’t stand for anything. The emotional connection with the Caribbean is not there. It could be a flash mob for … anything. Too bad. Good execution with no soul takes away the wow effect!
July 20th, 2010 at 12:26 pm
As long as they’re fun to watch and relevant to their promoted item — which this one was — I don’t think they’ll disappear. They will just need to be ever more clever.
By the way, this is a ’60s idea; it was called guerilla theatre, which was comatose for about ten years before engendering performance art.
July 22nd, 2010 at 6:09 am
Flashmob is dance and dance will continue to live with and without commercial message – God save the flashmob and the anti-?-capitalist “WoW” effect
July 26th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
The thing about many flash mobs now is that often just become one big street dance. There’s nothing new about it anymore. It’s not like ImprovEverywhere’s flash mobs where every piece is unique and doesn’t always devolve into dance only.