The Big Red Button Is Back: Belgian Viral Video Ad Takes over Dutch City

The red button is back. Who will have the gall to press it this time?

  • Share
  • Read Later

The red button is back. Who will be brave enough to press it this time?

It was one of the most popular viral videos of last year: to advertise the launch of its new cable channel in Belgium, the TNT network settled on a sleepy cobblestone square in the small town of Aarschot in the north of the country, where it decided to add a bit of drama. With the simple press of a big red button, out came enough commotion to fill a movie script: ambulances, gunfights, even a lingerie-clad motorcyclist. The video has been viewed over 42 million times since it was posted online last April.

(MORE: Belgian Ad Agency’s ‘Dramatic’ Stunt Delights the Web)

This time, TNT took its talents northward, settling in a city center in the Netherlands on a frigid day, where dozens of people gathered around the red button, unsure whether to press it. Once someone did, though, a man in blue spandex descended Spiderman-style from above, offering a phone. “Make a choice: blue or yellow?” asks a mysterious voice — and then the drama begins. (The only thing missing is the lingerie-clad biker, although there is a gaggle of streakers.)

With production values like these, next time NewsFeed sees a big red button, we’re totally pressing it.

WATCH: The Top 10 Viral Videos of 2012