ITI Articles

“‘Viral’”, says the Media Design School website, “is a big thing in advertising, but it’s hard to do right.  Loading a video online doesn’t mean you’ve done viral.  But having that video viewed by millions (or in New Zealand’s case, thousands), having everybody talking about you and even making the news – that puts you in the realm of ‘viral’.”

Earlier this year, Diploma of Creative Advertising Course Leader Kate Humphries gave students 100 days to make an impact by creating an idea that “ ‘added to the gaiety of the nation’, an idea that made people smile, and an idea that got people chattering online.  That idea had to have the potential to feature a product or service at its heart.”

And the students certainly got people talking – some nationally, some going beyond New Zealand’s shores to create a sensation in international print and online media. 

Steve Mandrake and Ray Parker started protest group The Red Sea Boys to get Nightline presenter Samantha Hayes to dye her hair back to red. They created a song, website and a lot of publicity and within two weeks, they achieved their aim.

Other students decided to play on the somewhat misleading referendum question regarding the smacking of children, giving people the chance to make up their own question on Facebook.  The group attracted over 2,000 members and other sites have been created off the back of it.

Shreshtha Sawant decided to use the distinctly Indian head waggling move to promote Kingfisher beer.  Kiwis attempted the waggle online and the Indian community judged the best one, with a weekly prize of Kingfisher beer to the best waggler.

And finally, there was the “Five naked photos” project, which captured the attention of news agencies around the world, made several appearances in New Zealand television and print media and caused just a wee bit of a fuss here and overseas. 

To view the videos of these hilarious and inventive projects go to: Media Design School Viral Videos