Why did Kolaveri Di Go Viral Part II

Here is it … as promised…

In addition to the three things (being free, status of becoming a Giver and meeting the unsatisfied, unfelt aspirations of the population. Yet another, aspect responsible for the success of Kolaveri Di was the possibility of customization for the song.

Here’s the detailed download:

a.      Being in the local Lingo (Tanglish – Tamil + English) it vibed well with the Indian Janta.

b.      A catchy tune? – ok-ok its’ debatable, but that the whole point – more the debate more the hits – as now the Janta wanted to know for themselves, what the Fuzz was All About! This perhaps worked wonders. When few music directors (including Javed Akhtar) didn’t find it catchy enough – the Janta decided to pass the Verdict by themselves. The result as we all know – it went Viral! Similar thing, happened with the Anna Campaign – had the government not arrested the aging septuagenarian, his struggle would have not gone Viral. Fact of the matter is as a society – we favour the under-dogs.

This also happened with the Kolaveri Di – with a few music veterans, dismissing the score as a frivolous attempt by green-horns, the young replied by passing their verdict!

c.      Kolaveri-Di like the Anna Anti-Corruption Campaign had the possibility of being customized by the people it reached. The world which exists on the web is always on the look-out for the new exciting stuff. This song, because of its simplicity has been rendered in more than 25 variants by the Netizen. There is an anti-inflation version for Sharad Pawar (remember the Slap), one Mullaperiyar Dam issue and even one by a girl turning the tables on this gender-biased song!

Well, the one I liked the best is the one rendered by Sonu Nigam’s Son (embedded below)

Viral Marketing is an internet mob on adrenaline. To capture its power – the marketers need a mix of Novelty, Freedom and Cause - an expression, a public opinion. I would love to see Virals being used to form pan-national public opinion for public policy decisions and not just for movies, songs or MMSs.