It is not every day that a video gets so much attention, but then again many videos do go viral in today’s world. The matter at hand is the most recent music video that has gone viral during this year of 2013, which is “What Does The Fox Say”. Not only has this video reawakened an age-old question, but it's topping the music charts and racking up millions of views on YouTube. It has also made me wonder about it. So much so that I must investigate it myself.
Could It Be…?
The video “What Does The Fox Say” appeals to a large audience. Probably the most fascinating thing about the audience for the video is the gap or range of ages. It literally appeals to young children all the way to old folks. This is very surprising for a song/video to accomplish such a feat because most young people and older folks don’t listen to the same genre of music. How it makes the large appeal is what I question. There are two popular theories behind how such a success was possible which we must take into consideration. The first is that people would say that it is accomplished by how people are taught to learn animals by associating their names with what sounds they supposedly make, which I have experienced myself growing up. I doubt that it is enough to justify the large age range. Next, someone might say it is due to the catchy tune of music, but again I argue that alone is not enough because that means Lil Wayne or Justin B should have more old folks singing along to their catchy tunes. Obviously, we do not find the same age range.
Was It Really That Simple?
First, I look to the video for clues that may lead to my answer. In the video, I noticed that an old man who seems to be the grandpa of the child, is sitting with him as he reads a large book. Right away, I had a very important clue, but first it should be mentioned that the song is based on how people make a sound that is supposed to be the animal sound of a specific animal. Obviously this has been going on for some time and is somewhat of a mystery in itself because some of the sounds don’t match up correctly with the actual animal sound-anyways back to my clue. The grandpa is making different animal sounds for the young child to understand and-yes, to learn. This only reinforces that the music video is tapping into an age-old question. When you think about it, multiple generations can relate to a topic that arguably would attract a wide range of ages. When being asked how they came up with the idea Vegard answered, “It all comes out of a genuine wonder about what kind of sounds it makes,”…“For all other known or normal animal species, you have this defined word that they say that is their sound like woof or meow or squeak.””(Entertainment Weekly ). However, the success cannot be the same explanation for all the age groups.
Wait There’s More!
What about those people in the middle? You know the ones between the young kids and old folks that made this thing viral in the first place. What made it so popular with them? The catchy music alone cannot do it justice, but there is obviously a comedic factor at work, which is enough to allow this group to enjoy something like it. Come to find out that the guys who made this video are actually comedians, which I found out thanks to Gigaom. Not only did I find out the guys are comedians but they were quite popular before this video, “the brothers Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåke have been popular in their native land for years — the song has launched them internationally” (Gigaom). Why is this important? Well first, it goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyways, everyone loves comedy or at least to be made to laugh occasionally. Second, they have years of experience in this kind of stuff, and it is about time they get a big break.
First, I look to the video for clues that may lead to my answer. In the video, I noticed that an old man who seems to be the grandpa of the child, is sitting with him as he reads a large book. Right away, I had a very important clue, but first it should be mentioned that the song is based on how people make a sound that is supposed to be the animal sound of a specific animal. Obviously this has been going on for some time and is somewhat of a mystery in itself because some of the sounds don’t match up correctly with the actual animal sound-anyways back to my clue. The grandpa is making different animal sounds for the young child to understand and-yes, to learn. This only reinforces that the music video is tapping into an age-old question. When you think about it, multiple generations can relate to a topic that arguably would attract a wide range of ages. When being asked how they came up with the idea Vegard answered, “It all comes out of a genuine wonder about what kind of sounds it makes,”…“For all other known or normal animal species, you have this defined word that they say that is their sound like woof or meow or squeak.””(Entertainment Weekly ). However, the success cannot be the same explanation for all the age groups.
Wait There’s More!
What about those people in the middle? You know the ones between the young kids and old folks that made this thing viral in the first place. What made it so popular with them? The catchy music alone cannot do it justice, but there is obviously a comedic factor at work, which is enough to allow this group to enjoy something like it. Come to find out that the guys who made this video are actually comedians, which I found out thanks to Gigaom. Not only did I find out the guys are comedians but they were quite popular before this video, “the brothers Bård Ylvisåker and Vegard Ylvisåke have been popular in their native land for years — the song has launched them internationally” (Gigaom). Why is this important? Well first, it goes without saying, but I am going to say it anyways, everyone loves comedy or at least to be made to laugh occasionally. Second, they have years of experience in this kind of stuff, and it is about time they get a big break.
Lucky Foxes
Surprisingly a third component, arguably the most important of the three, is to blame for such a success. I am just gonna go right out and say it, Luck out of attempted failure. These guys made this music video only to promote their show back home. They claim it was design to be used as an explanation of how they had failed; “we're comedians and what we do is comedy, we didn't want to use such a production team to try to make a hit song. We thought it would be more fun to kind of abuse them somehow. We thought hey, we have this old idea about the sound that the fox made, because no one really knows. So we decided to do that instead of something intelligent, a hit. Which kind of backfired.” ( Billboard Beta ). If your plan backfires and the backfire brings success and fame, it has something to do with luck.
Answered
All things considered, three ingredients paved the way for “What The Fox Says” success not just one alone. Therefore, the answer to my burning question of how was it possible lies with a way of learning animal’s names passed down through generations, experience comedians, and lady luck.
Surprisingly a third component, arguably the most important of the three, is to blame for such a success. I am just gonna go right out and say it, Luck out of attempted failure. These guys made this music video only to promote their show back home. They claim it was design to be used as an explanation of how they had failed; “we're comedians and what we do is comedy, we didn't want to use such a production team to try to make a hit song. We thought it would be more fun to kind of abuse them somehow. We thought hey, we have this old idea about the sound that the fox made, because no one really knows. So we decided to do that instead of something intelligent, a hit. Which kind of backfired.” ( Billboard Beta ). If your plan backfires and the backfire brings success and fame, it has something to do with luck.
Answered
All things considered, three ingredients paved the way for “What The Fox Says” success not just one alone. Therefore, the answer to my burning question of how was it possible lies with a way of learning animal’s names passed down through generations, experience comedians, and lady luck.
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