How One Baby Captured 40 Million Hearts

As part of my social media marketing class from the University of South Dakota this summer, I read Contagious: Why Things Catch On by Jonah Berger. The book seeks to answer a simple question:

Why do some things go viral while others don’t?

Where I expected dense statistics, I instead was pleased to find interesting and familiar examples of viral videos and campaigns–from a $100 dollar Philly cheesesteak (really) to the Will It Blend series on YouTube. Berger argues that six factors can ensure the success of a viral media campaign, and devotes a chapter of research and examples to each. I’d hate to give the whole book away, but a recent example of a viral video appeals to one of the most effective and most obvious factors outlined in the book: emotion.

On June 6, Jessica Sinclair posted a 36 second video of her infant daughter wearing her brand new pair of glasses on Facebook.

After a brief struggle as the goggles are put in place, little Piper freezes in shock, then looks wide-eyed at her parents, a precious smile spreading across her delightfully chubby baby cheeks.

You’ve probably watched this video, or at least seen it shared on your Facebook timeline in recent weeks. At the time of this writing, the original Facebook video has been viewed nearly 40 million times, not to mention picked up by major news outlets. Sure, it’s cute, but it’s not the only video ever posted of a cute baby. It’s not even the only video to be posted of a baby trying on glasses for the first time (Exhibits A, B, and C). So why has this one clip in particular become one of the most viral videos of the summer?

First of all, this isn’t your garden-variety cute.

Based on this and the few other examples of babies wearing glasses I’ve found, I can confidently say that all bespectacled babies are working with a significant cute factor. However, not all reactions to clear vision are created equal. These babies all pause and stare at the new world with wide-eyed wonder, but none have quite the same reaction of pure joy as baby Piper.

That very joy is exactly what’s contagious: seeing an adorable baby so happy makes us happy. Not only that, but her big reaction to things so mundane and taken for granted–like prescription lenses and a sense of sight–reminds us, if only for a moment, of what wonders the human body and human innovation really are.

Berger notes in his chapter on emotion that “high-arousal” emotions like anger or awe make someone more likely to act on whatever stimulates that emotion. In other words, being cute isn’t enough for a video to go viral. That video has to make us feel something that we just can’t keep to ourselves–whether that feeling is anger, amusement, or awe.

So, the joy or awe we might feel watching a baby see clearly for the first time drives us to share that feeling with our friends.

Another interesting result of this viral video worth mentioning has been a discussion about eye health in infants. Sinclair's video prompted many people to ask just how a baby too young to communicate can be diagnosed with poor eyesight in the first place. This was such a popular response to the video that it prompted reports from major news outlets like CNN.

Yet while this may have contributed to the video’s exposure, the initial draw was certainly not a broad-reaching concern for farsighted babies. The cute baby drew viewers in, and the joy she inspired prompted millions to share her with friends and family.

This particular video’s time in the spotlight is already drawing to a close, but I wonder if the reasoning behind its immense popularity will inspire marketers in medical fields.

After all, if a 36-second video can make millions of people curious about pediatric optometry, imagine what it might do for other health concerns.

Then again, scripted moments are rarely so poignant as the joy of a smiling little girl as she see her parents clearly for the very first time.

#mcom241 #viralvideos #cute