This month, the viral videos that caused us to click most were the ones that made us look twice. It was all about that pesky bait-and-switch principle — terrible at your bank or with your cell phone company, but as it turns out, not so bad on the Internet.
Let’s start with the height of pop culture: British band Mumford & Sons is understandably busy embarking on a largely sold-out world tour and crafting their third album. But what band worth its multiplatinum records would outsource their music video? Fans were shocked when the folk-rocking Londoners didn’t appear in their latest video for “Hopeless Wanderer” — though their replacements were quite possibly even better than the band. That’s because a team of Hollywood heavy-hitters took the stage instead: Ed Helms (The Hangover), Jason Bateman (‘Arrested Development’), Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis (both of Saturday Night Live fame) donned their country best and rocked out at a down-home hoedown, banjos in hand (of which Helms actually does play). But if you were expecting a straightforward music video starring four funnymen, think again.
Such an unexpected twist is just as effective in live situations, as proven by journalist Jamie Kirchick, who joined a roundtable discussion about Bradley Manning on Russia’s state-funded international TV network. But he wasn’t interested in talking about the WikiLeaks trial, instead using his screen time for a two-minute tirade about Russia’s new anti-gay propaganda laws.
Or the Russian Army choir that almost drove a morning show panel to tears with their stirring, heartfelt, bass-heavy rendition of Adele’s “Skyfall” from the newest James Bond film.
Or even those typically vacuous college convocation speeches — Georgia Tech freshmen didn’t know what to think when their speaker, Nick Selby, launched into a motivational epic, bolstered by the soundtrack from 2001: A Space Odyssey and including quotes from Sir Isaac Newton.
And those are just some of our favorite viral videos of August. Take a look at the rest above.
This month, the viral videos that caused us to click most were the ones that made us look twice. It was all about that pesky bait-and-switch principle — terrible at your bank or with your cell phone company, but as it turns out, not so bad on the Internet.
Let’s start with the height of pop culture: British band Mumford & Sons is understandably busy embarking on a largely sold-out world tour and crafting their third album. But what band worth its multiplatinum records would outsource their music video? Fans were shocked when the folk-rocking Londoners didn’t appear in their latest video for “Hopeless Wanderer” — though their replacements were quite possibly even better than the band. That’s because a team of Hollywood heavy-hitters took the stage instead: Ed Helms (The Hangover), Jason Bateman (‘Arrested Development’), Will Forte and Jason Sudeikis (both of Saturday Night Live fame) donned their country best and rocked out at a down-home hoedown, banjos in hand (of which Helms actually does play). But if you were expecting a straightforward music video starring four funnymen, think again.
Such an unexpected twist is just as effective in live situations, as proven by journalist Jamie Kirchick, who joined a roundtable discussion about Bradley Manning on Russia’s state-funded international TV network. But he wasn’t interested in talking about the WikiLeaks trial, instead using his screen time for a two-minute tirade about Russia’s new anti-gay propaganda laws.
Or the Russian Army choir that almost drove a morning show panel to tears with their stirring, heartfelt, bass-heavy rendition of Adele’s “Skyfall” from the newest James Bond film.
Or even those typically vacuous college convocation speeches — Georgia Tech freshmen didn’t know what to think when their speaker, Nick Selby, launched into a motivational epic, bolstered by the soundtrack from 2001: A Space Odyssey and including quotes from Sir Isaac Newton.
And those are just some of our favorite viral videos of August. Take a look at the rest above.