This paper presents an analysis of 280 online videos that appeared on the Advertising Age weekly chart of the top ten viral videos of the week; the videos appeared on the chart from March 23rd 2009 to March 9th 2011. The videos were analyzed along four areas of observation including the advertiser characteristics, the formatting characteristics of the video, the messaging strategies of each video, and the level of involvement the product would require for a consumer to make a purchase. Through examining the components of each video, a thread of commonality was revealed. Cumulatively, the dominant themes and characteristics within each video provide identifying characteristics, much like a fingerprint, that when utilized together, provide the greatest potential for the marketing video to become a viral experience.
","abstract_html":"<p>This paper presents an analysis of 280 online videos that appeared on the Advertising Age weekly chart of the top ten viral videos of the week; the videos appeared on the chart from March 23rd 2009 to March 9th 2011. The videos were analyzed along four areas of observation including the advertiser characteristics, the formatting characteristics of the video, the messaging strategies of each video, and the level of involvement the product would require for a consumer to make a purchase. Through examining the components of each video, a thread of commonality was revealed. Cumulatively, the dominant themes and characteristics within each video provide identifying characteristics, much like a fingerprint, that when utilized together, provide the greatest potential for the marketing video to become a viral experience.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Broadus, Thomas Grant, II"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Masters Thesis","degree_discipline":"Mass Communication and Journalism","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Fei Xue","David Davies","Mary Lou Sheffer"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2011,"date_issued":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2011-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z","subjects":["viral videos","Advertising Age","characteristics of a viral video","Broadcast and Video Studies","Communication Technology and New Media","Mass Communication","Public Relations and Advertising"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/230","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Fei Xue","David Davies","Mary Lou Sheffer"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Broadus, Thomas Grant, II"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-08-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Mass Communication and Journalism"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["viral videos","Advertising Age","characteristics of a viral video","Broadcast and Video Studies","Communication Technology and New Media","Mass Communication","Public Relations and Advertising"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/230"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This paper presents an analysis of 280 online videos that appeared on the Advertising Age weekly chart of the top ten viral videos of the week; the videos appeared on the chart from March 23rd 2009 to March 9th 2011. The videos were analyzed along four areas of observation including the advertiser characteristics, the formatting characteristics of the video, the messaging strategies of each video, and the level of involvement the product would require for a consumer to make a purchase. Through examining the components of each video, a thread of commonality was revealed. Cumulatively, the dominant themes and characteristics within each video provide identifying characteristics, much like a fingerprint, that when utilized together, provide the greatest potential for the marketing video to become a viral experience.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Viral Fingerprint: A Content Analysis of Popular Viral Advertisements"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Fei Xue","David Davies","Mary Lou Sheffer"],"dc:creator":["Broadus, Thomas Grant, II"],"dc:date.available":["2016-08-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["This paper presents an analysis of 280 online videos that appeared on the Advertising Age weekly chart of the top ten viral videos of the week; the videos appeared on the chart from March 23rd 2009 to March 9th 2011. The videos were analyzed along four areas of observation including the advertiser characteristics, the formatting characteristics of the video, the messaging strategies of each video, and the level of involvement the product would require for a consumer to make a purchase. Through examining the components of each video, a thread of commonality was revealed. Cumulatively, the dominant themes and characteristics within each video provide identifying characteristics, much like a fingerprint, that when utilized together, provide the greatest potential for the marketing video to become a viral experience.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://aquila.usm.edu/masters_theses/230"],"dc:subject":["viral videos","Advertising Age","characteristics of a viral video","Broadcast and Video Studies","Communication Technology and New Media","Mass Communication","Public Relations and Advertising"],"dc:title":["The Viral Fingerprint: A Content Analysis of Popular Viral Advertisements"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Mass Communication and Journalism"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:44:41Z"}