Ministry of Health gets "viral" video

Disclosure: MOH is a client of H&K. Our firm is working on the PR for this program, but not the digital elements.

The Ontario Ministry of Health has launched a new mumps awareness program using an, ahem, "viral" video (couldn't resist) to get the message out to university-aged students to ensure they get a booster for this unpleasant ailment.

It's a little off-colour, uses some questionable language, is screamingly funny and is nothing like the cheesy videos we saw in health class when I was a kid.

As I've told many a client over the years, standing out in the online video space means you have to be laser-focused on your audience and be prepared to take risks that make you feel as uncomfortable as the guy in this video.

Comments

[paullyoung (Paull Young)]

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@kaye for your new Viral class, @doctorjones had a great little post today: [link to post]

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[Chris Clarke]

I don't get it. What are mumps anyway? And why would a guy be in a bubble, fully dressed, and feel the need to drop his pants?

[Ryan Anderson]

I think there should have been a counter for all the viral puns that were made around the planning and shooting of these.

I've found in this space that a lot of clients are hesitant to take a chance on something less safe, but you're completely right. If you're not a little bit scared of the response, you're probably not going to get the response you want from this type of campaign.

Chris - I've never heard a joke that got better by explaining it, but the point of the video was to highlight the fact that mumps can cause testicular swelling - hence, the dropping of the pants and the ominous thud.