Video Viral of the Week: TNT’s ‘dramatic surprise’ becomes second most shared ad of all time

Apr 18, 2012 | Uncategorized

A promotional video posted by television channel TNT has taken YouTube by storm, getting 23m views in just one week. The ad is fast becoming the most shared video on the website. Published on April 11, the ‘A Dramatic Surprise On a Quiet Square’ video campaign has clocked a whopping 22,626,099 views and 214,896 ‘likes’ […]

A promotional video posted by television channel TNT has taken YouTube by storm, getting 23m views in just one week. The ad is fast becoming the most shared video on the website. Published on April 11, the ‘A Dramatic Surprise On a Quiet Square’ video campaign has clocked a whopping 22,626,099 views and 214,896 ‘likes’ already.


TNT’s ad agency, Duval Guillame Modem, placed a large red button in the middle of a quiet square (where nothing happens, as the description of the video puts it) in a Belgian town along with a ‘push to add drama’ signage hanging near it.
It then captures the reaction of a part bemused- part astounded crowd when one of them actually goes ahead and, well, pushes the button.
A series of dramatic events follow, including the arrival of an ambulance with attendants dropping the ‘patient’ from the stretcher mutiple times, a cyclist ramming into the ambulance’s open door, and a fist fight between the cyclist and the burly ambulance driver.
Throw in a scantily-clad woman on a motorbike being chased by a car, a fake encounter that leaves a person ‘dead’ and the bizarre arrival of a team of rugby players, and what you get is a video that is dramatic in the true sense of the word.
TNT’s ad has become the second most-shared of all time, according to video research frim Unruly. The ad has been shared 3 million times, with only “The Force,” the 2011 Super Bowl ad from Volkswagen, being shared more.
Client: TNT Belgium
Agency: Duval Guillaume Modem, Belgium
Production house: Czar
Post production: Nozon

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