Bizarre adverts gone viral: gallery
We eat them, clone them, and shave them -- but can sheep surf?
A video created by Finisterre, an ethical clothing company based in Cornwall, UK, shows a 'world first' -- teaching a sheep how to surf. The commercial has been seen by over half a million viewers, and was designed to promote the firm's growing sheep herd.
The more products consumers buy, the larger the herd can grow. So how better to promote the wooly face of the firm?
In the words of Finisterre, "we love you Mildred".
Smoothies, iced coffee or vegetables -- the uses of a blender are endless. But there aren't many who would place a beloved gadget into one just for the sake of it.
Tom Dickson, CEO of Blendtec, found that even though he had a powerful product to sell, his marketing was found wanting. With With a $50 budget and camera in hand, video producer Kels Goodman captured the first five videos of CEO Tom Dickson blending the "unexpected".
Overnight, videos of Dickson blending items from iPads to glow sticks became an online marketing hit. To date, the blended iPad has reached over 14 million views.
Complete with a list of odd search terms including "BBC Top Gear" and "Tractor", this commercial uploaded to YouTube is an interesting take on the Star Wars character Darth Vadar.
The Carjam car radio show -- broadcast in Carlow, Kilkenny -- is the producer.
"Who needs a movie? Getting Married? Got a web site? Fund raising? Commercials? Selling something? Movies can make your life go better!!"
Fred and Sharon's movies. It's difficult to work out if the movies are meant to be slightly creepy on purpose as a marketing ploy -- but you can make up your own mind by checking out another of Fred and Sharon's creations below.
What first appeared as a hilarious home video of an old lady woken up by a car resulting in the driver's airbag deploying turned out to be released by furniture maker IKEA.
How this promotes home furniture remains anyone's guess, but according to commentary, the idea came from combining odd combinations of materials to form household goods.
In a clever prank video released by an energy drink distributor in Rochester, NY, after his mother became increasingly frustrated with the amount of stock living in the cellar, he took matters further to force an overload.
While his parents were on vacation, he covered every surface with the product -- but couldn't have imagined the results, or the huge boost to promotion based on the YouTube video.
In a video promoting Nike shoes, break beat music from duo HIFANA (composed of KEIZOmachine and JUICY) set up and hooked up mixers and sound systems to Nike Free Run+ shoes.
Of course, the actual Nike Free Run+ shoes can't produce music when bent, but the sounds are cool all the same.
A YouTube video depicting a single mother searching for the father of her child -- after meeting and spending a night together while the man was on vacation -- caused such a media storm after being seen by millions that te original video was pulled.
The woman, Karen, says:
"I'm doing this because I'm trying to find August's father. I don’t remember where you're from, I don't even remember your name. We ended up having sex .. the next morning when I woke up, you were gone."
In fact, it was a hoax created by the Danish government’s tourism agency, VisitDenmark.
The Hawaii Chair promises to "take the work out of your workout" for a "slimmer, sexier you."
The viral video reached over 3.5 million hits after the chair's eye-opening demonstration. Who says you can't tone-up and be productive at the same time?
The free video call software Skype, used by people across the globe, created a viral video called 'the laughing chain'.
The purpose behind it? To emphasize that the 'global language' of laughter can create a chain reaction through Skype software.
It has been seen by over two million people to date.