1 minute to save the world + viral advertising

I came across this competition called 1 minute to save the world when searching for current climate change campaigns:


"The Competition

A short film competition on climate change inviting entrants and viewers from all over the world. The story of climate change will be told by the people it is affecting - you. We hope that your shared perspectives and creative responses will help us all understand, adapt and take action in response to a rapidly changing world in time to save it and ourselves.

The Campaign

Advertisers and multi-nationals have long known the value of even just one minute of film. With the help of our international Partners we will use your entries as a platform to carry your voices far and wide in a global campaign for the planet rallying public and political support in the lead up to the Copenhagen Climate Conference and continuing until CO2 targets have been met. To take part all you need to do is creatively respond to the challenge of climate change using film as your medium.

We’re asking you to use whatever means you have to film your short and use your minute to speak up and make the world listen. We hope you will feel inspired to add your creative voice to this global climate campaign."

Details on the 2010 competition haven't been announced yet, but I think one minute of film is a good target, especially as I'll also be showing my film (s) at various festivals. My initial idea upon reading this brief was to combine all my cat storyboards into one, focusing on the impacts of flooding. An award was given for one of the films last year for most virally distributed. Surprise surprise its got a cat in it! See here.

After seeing that however, I know i can't do the same thing if I want to enter the same competition. I do like the idea of cats though, and they do boost viral viewings. Cats against climate change has had more than 300,000 views on YouTube and has appeared on the Viral Video Chart

Its one of only a few environmental videos that has gone viral. The main reason videos go viral is that they provide entertainment, if a video isn't entertaining, it won't go viral. Sometimes an exciting title can have an effect, like The Most Terrifying Video You'll Ever See it can lure an audience in, but the audience probably won't appreciate being cheated when they're expecting to be entertained. Some companies use marketing strategies to boost their viral viewings, its explained more in this article. I'm not sure I agree with all of their methods, but some things like posting my video on social networking sites could definitely be implemented.