I love this one minute spot…it has everything I think a viral advertisement needs.  First, it isn’t overbranded.  I think in order for a video to be successful (at least from a commercial perspective) it must only include product and brand mentions, not shove it in our face. Second, it’s not too long; one minute is just about the max that I would go these days in order to capture the most attention.  Third, and perhaps most importantly: it has a dog fish in it.

Disclosure: I am professionally associated with Volkswagen.  That said, I had absolutely nothing to do with this ad, I found it on YouTube randomly.  I wish I did though, it cracks me up! It also will probably give me nightmares.  Enjoy.

I love the show Mad Men, the character development is incredible and the behind-the-scenes voyeurism of a fictitious 1960s ad agency is riveting. For those of us in the marketing space, Mad Men is almost required viewing.

Sesame Street, a show that has been popular with kids since before I was born, recently did a fantastic take on Mad Men.  I love how they captured the feel of the show, with the exception of the mid-day boozing, smoking and womanizing. Take 2:15 out of your day to watch this great video, I think it will make you smile.

I didn’t attend the infamous Burning Man celebration last week, but I do know a lot of people that did.  If you couldn’t make it either, this very cool time-lapse video from Ben Wiggins can give you a beautiful visual peek into the legendary festival in just a couple of minutes. This exact video may not be a viral hit, but it’s cool enough to make the cut for Viral Friday anyway.  Enjoy, and make sure you have your speakers turned on, the music really ads to it.

Evolution (Burning Man time lapses) from Delrious on Vimeo.

Time lapses I shot while at Burning Man 2009.

To me this is absolutely brilliant.  ”IKEA Heights” is a soap opera style drama (with plenty of over acted, melodramatic action) shot entirely inside the Burbank, CA IKEA apparently without the store’s knowledge.  I’ve visited that particular story many times, it’s usually incredibly busy, so I would imagine it took quite a bit to pull this stealth mission off.

As I watched this 5 minute episode I couldn’t help but notice and laugh at the customers wandering around the store.  I wonder what they were thinking?  I love this kind of creativity, I hope to see more like it in the future.  Episode 1 is embedded below, you can see the rest of them here.

IKEA Heights from DaveAOK on Vimeo.

If this video isn’t real, it sure is edited well.  This crazy :45 spot show a guy plummeting down the world’s longest slip-n-slide and then launching into…well, you’ll just have to watch and see.

Somehow this has to do with a Microsoft Office Project 2007 site, but I don’t know exactly how because I can’t read German.  It’s fun though, and has almost at 2.5 million views as of this writing.  Enjoy MEGAWOOSH

I love Snow White (who doesn’t?) and I love Daft Punk..  What better than a mashup?  Enjoy this 2:26 video, sure to start your day off right.

***UPDATE***It seems the audio has already been pulled from this video, which kind of ruins the fun. So, if you still want to watch the video below, may I suggest hitting ‘play’ on your Watchmen soundtrack at the same time?

What could be more fitting for this viral Friday than something Watchmen related?  I was a huge fan on the graphic novel back in the day, I’m looking forward to seeing the movie, although I won’t be braving the crowds on opening weekend I don’t think.  This quick clip answers the question we all have, “what if The Incredibles were done Watchmen style?” Enjoy.

(RSS Subscribers, click through for embedded video. Honest, it’s worth it.)

Remember the literal version of A Ha’s “Take On Me”?  I thought it was brilliant.  Here is a great follow up with another classic 80’s song, Billy Idol’s “White Wedding” from the good folks over at Funny or Die.

This 5 minute short captivated me when I watched it.  Not only are the music and story gripping, but the methodology behind its creation even more so.  Reza Dolatabadi made this movie with over 6,000 paintings.  So In a way it’s stop motion, in a way it is animation.  Every time you hit the pause button you are seeing a new and unique painting…amazing!  Khoda is described as a psychological thriller, and I agree.  It was the winner of the Best Animation Canary Wharf Film Festival (London) August 2008.  Enjoy.

Khoda from Reza Dolatabadi on Vimeo.

Who doesn’t like kids doing things with their eyebrows to the beat of a funky house mix?  I especially like the balloon solo…