Soon, if you haven’t already, you’ll be watching a video shot for Chuck Testa out in California.

As I’m writing this, I have had to opportunity to watch his video spread from a tiny comment on www.reddit.com to a full out internet meme.

(A meme ( /?mi?m/^[1]) is “an idea, behaviour or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. Pronounced like “cream” it was coined by Professor Dawkins)

Here’s the video:

Hilarious yes?

What makes this video great, is that Chuck Testa pops out and says “Nope! It’s Chuck Testa”. But if Chuck had said “nope” to the video producers creative ideas, he would have seen far less exposure for his content.

Published August 14th, the video saw minor success. Chuck was probably happy enough with the video too! But wait. Check out the insights below. Once there internet “found out” about the commercial, his views skyrocketed.

Not every viral video will work. In fact. Most don’t. Our city saw great success thanks to Rob Bliss and his team producing a Lib-Dub video for the classic song  American Pie. Rob and his team poured their time into that video – and views kept climbing. Grand Rapids got another 15 minutes of fame (more like, 4MM+ views of fame!).

So why did Chuck Testa’s video hit off with the internet? Simple. They didn’t try too hard, but they experimented with a creative solution that ended up becoming a booming success.

He’s actually hosting a contest right now on his website for the best “NOPE!” photoshop. (http://www.ojaitaxidermy.com – if you want to enter.)

Here are my key takeaways from the Chuck Testa ‘experience’ (and he still makes me laugh outloud, FYI.):

• First and foremost: don’t be afraid to be creative.
• Pushing the boundaries doesn’t have to be “offensive” – you can push boundaries and still be noticed.
• If the internet “finds out” about something you’ve done and it goes viral – let it. Heck, join it!
• Don’t. Be afraid. Let your brand explore a creative message that wouldn’t normally “fit”.

If you find any good Chuck Testa stories, share it with us on our Facebook or Twitter!

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Addendum: I should add that the video was shot by professionals for “Commercial Kings“. Just note that while shot by professionals, the beauty of the video is how long it took to be “discovered” by the internet. Very impressive viral piece.