This question really gets to the heart of an ongoing debate within the advertising community. I run a weekly marketing podcast, called The BeanCast, that has discussed this issue many times. I'll link to one of our more recently discussions below.

But essentially a viral video is "good content." Period. End of story.

There are a lot of people who claim to be in the "viral video" business. And time and time again they achieve middling success. Meanwhile, (as you say) some broadcast TV commercial efforts like the Outpost.com or even the recent McDs Filet o Fish work consistently garner viral popularity.

So really there is no clear line separating viral video from commercial video. the only line is commercial vs. non-commercial (usually defined by quality) or broadcast vs. internet (which is simply a media issue). Anything can go viral, though. All it takes is for the video to be posted online eventually and lots of people to go out of their way to send their friends to the content.

So to answer you question, the only thing that needs to happen to make something go viral is to create amazing content. Whether it's intensely silly ( like the Jib Jab stuff), Touching (like the Susan Boyles video) or thought-provoking (like the Dove Evolution video), just make it the best you can.

One last thing, though. Very few intentional viral efforts succeed without some kind of help. That takes careful seeding and asking friends and family to pass the link along. It also takes consideration for keyword optimization in the video metadata and throughout the hosting pages, as well as a well-executed SEO plan. Sometimes viral just happens. Most of the time it doesn't. So make sure you execute on all fronts.

Hope this helps. Links below:
Source(s):
http://beancast.us/profiles/blogs/episode-fifty-happy-birthday (Reference Five Years of Viral portion of the show...source links in the show notes.)

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=outpost.com&am... (These are the Outpost.com videos I referenced.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bJOIqVAD-s (Filet o Fish spot referenced)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U (Dove Evolution Referenced)

http://willvideoforfood.com/2008/02/27/10-tips-for-a-viral-video-hail-mary/ (A sarcastic and very funny riff on what it takes to go viral.)

http://adage.com/digitalnext/post?article_id=133058 (A more considered rant on the Ad Age blog from B.L. Ochman...especially consider the comments.)


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