If you want to have a laugh. Stop what you are doing and watch this video. Now.

Greg and his friend Ryan go shopping in Target with special XMAS shopping lists that they have made for each other. Now the guys have not looked at their shopping list before they start asking the clerks for the unusual items that are on the lists.

I stumbled across this John Lewis TV spot today and it sucked me in with it’s spectacle, story and multiple emotions so I thought I would share.

#1 Auto-Tune the News: BED INTRUDER SONG!!! (now on iTunes)

#2 Key of Awesome: TIK TOK KESHA Parody: Glitter Puke – Key of Awe$ome #13

#3 Greyson Chance Singing Paparazzi

#4 Annoying Orange Wazzup

#5 Old Spice | The Man Your Man Could Smell Like

# 6 Yosemitebear Mountain Giant Double Rainbow 1-8-10

#7 OK Go – This Too Shall Pass – Rube Goldberg Machine version – Official

#8 THE TWILIGHT SAGA: ECLIPSE – Trailer

#9 Jimmy Surprises Bieber Fan

#10 Ken Block’s Gymkhana THREE, Part 2; Ultimate Playground; l’Autodrome, France

Want to get a handle on what the latest viral videos are on YouTube? Then check out YouTube Trends.

If you are trying to decide if you should buy an HTC EVO or an iPhone4 this video might make you feel better about the whole situation.

WARNING: ADULT LANGUAGE

When kids dream about playing professional sports they imaging being a super star like Kobe Bryant. When professional sports stars dream of playing they dream even bigger. Nike brings the emotion of those super dreams together in yet another web clip for the World Cup that has become a new viral video that combines multiple emotions and celebrities. It also drives home the point that sometimes in life it does just come down to the PKs.

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When I speak at conventions and consult with people about their web videos I often talk about spectacle, story and emotions being the ingredients of viral videos and people are sometimes confused by what I mean when I say “spectacle.”

Spectacle can be just about anything that visually grabs your attention. Think about the plastic bag in the Sam Mendes directed feature film American Beauty or the young cheerleader on the bed of rose peddles in the same film played by Thora Birch or the cheerleader dance scene choreographed by Cindy Montoya in the same movie. All of those images are spectacle and they are spectacles that move emotions.

When you are writing and designing your web videos think about what emotions you can move within the context of what you are creating and try to move as many of them as you can.

Take for example the above footage of Eyjafjallajökull the erupting Icelandic volcano by Sean Stiegemeier. Alone it’s breathtaking. Add ethereal music and you move more emotions. Show it to someone who missed their flight and lost money because of travel delays and you are dealing with a whole other set of emotions.

Funny videos are great but if you can’t remember the name of the product they have failed. I don’t know if it’s because this is not a US product or if it’s a because of the way the spot was designed but I can’t remember the name of the product in this video and I’ve watched it four times while preparing this post.

I do think the video is creepy and funny and has a great chance of going viral but will it sell more products?

I’m not sure.

Jaime Pressley and Jamie Earl are cast in this advertainment video from AXE that shows men how they can clean their balls. What’s interesting is that not only is this video available on Youtube but it’s also being served as a 300 x 250 banner ad. That should jack up the numbers on Youtube. If you “act now” you can also receive a free scrubby to clean your balls.

Remember, “If you have dirty balls that need cleaning, check out this very important message from Axe.”

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The most important viral videos of 2009 were few and far between but I did mange to pick 5 videos that for one reason or another brought real value to the independent production and distribution of web video.

5th – Do You Want to Date My Avatar

This year the brilliant and talented Felicia Day (Creator / Star of The Guild and Stream Award Winner) proved that you could give away 6 Million views of an independent music video for free and still sell electronic downloads of the video and the song as well as market and promote your web video series and DVDs.

4th – JK Wedding Entrance Dance

This viral video wasn’t important because it got over 35 Million views this year. It was significant because it didn’t make any money for the content creators to begin with but it did prompt YouTube to change policy and then it became a boon to YouTube’s “click to buy ads” program.

Social Media Site Mashable said the JK Wedding Entrance Dance was the, “antithesis of the Susan Boyle video explosion, where YouTube and ITV were unable to work out any sort of deal, and hundreds of millions of video views went unmonetized.”

3rd – The Bannen Way Trailer

Actor, co-writer and executive producer, Mark Gantt teamed up with writer, director and executive producer, Jesse Warren to create The Bannen Way (Launching Jan 6th, 2010 on Sony’s Crackle) but before they sold their idea to Sony they created a online trailer and “Pitch Site” that created buzz, got them a fancy Hollywood agent at ICM, helped then sell their show idea to Sony and they got to act, write and direct their project. The studio didn’t take Mark and Jesse’s football away from them and give it to someone else, Sony let them play quarterback and wide receiver. It has been fantasy filmmaking at it’s best and if The Bannen Way does well next month when they launch the first episode (on the same day that you can buy the feature length film on iTunes via electronic sell through) which I think it will, there will be a new working business model for web video and those of us who have been pushing this online video rock up the hill for so long will be jumping for joy.

Now I know the Original trailer for The Bannen Way came out on Saturday August 23th 2008 but I’m excited for these webisodes to become an online web series hit that will become a household name that sends mainstream America to the web to watch video they way they started texting after Ryan Seacrest told people to text in their votes on American Idol.

2nd – Ataque de Pánico! (Panic Attack!) 2009

More than any other video this year this online video goes to show you the power of web video for independent filmmakers.

Federico “Fede” Alvarez made a short film of robots invading the capital city of Uruguay for $300. He now has a CAA agent and a multi-million dollar movie deal with A-list Hollywood “Spider-Man” director Sam Raimi.

According to Patrick Goldstein of the LA Times, “After seeing his short film, which depicts an invasion of Montevideo by a battalion of giant robots, Mandate Pictures agreed to bankroll a $30-million upcoming film for Alvarez, with the filmmaker getting a cool $1 million director’s fee.”

1st – Iran, Tehran: wounded girl dying in front of camera, Her name was Neda

Neda Agha Soltan was shot to death on 20.06.2009 by security forces during a protest (against Iranian Presidential Election 2009) in IRAN. Her name quickly became a rallying cry for the opposition who protested against Islamic Dictatorship.

This video stands to remind us that without the freedom of speech to show videos that are real news and not fluff or propaganda we will be in the same boat as Iran. We need to make sure that the Internet remains open and gets even more open for people who don’t yet have access to the democracy of online video.

If you are interested in keeping the Internet Video and Entertainment open please visit the Open Entertainment Alliance