How not to go viral: 8 steps to dooming your edgy efforts

Beyond serendipity, viral campaigns may have little in common — except for avoiding these pitfalls

You’ve been tasked by your company to create a viral video or campaign. However, you probably don’t know what a viral campaign looks like. There is a good reason: No campaign can be viral by design.

Viral campaigns are actually just great concepts that are well executed, resonate with the target audience and cross over to mainstream appeal. It can cost a million dollars or be shot in someone’s back yard for 50 bucks. It’s all about the message, idea and product you’re selling.

Here are some ways to doom a potentially viral campaign:

1. Try to be cool. Nothing looks worse then a corporation trying desperately to get “down with the youth.” If you aren’t cool, don’t try to be. Otherwise you will end up looking incredibly stupid and out of touch. A recent example of “cool” advertising is this Nissan Cube Commercial.Or you can really go for the gold by appealing to the girls from 1999: “The Frosty Posse”