Nathan Apodaca, whose username is Doggface208, uploaded a video to TikTok on September 25th of himself skateboarding to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” while drinking from a bottle of Ocean Spray Cranberry-Raspberry Juice. The video went viral and had over 61 million views as of October 20th.

In today’s episode, we discuss what did Apodaca’s viral video does for him, “Dreams,” and Ocean Spray, and how do short form or viral videos impact marketing.

Apodaca’s video got many responses, and most of them were as wholesome as Apodaca’s video itself.

The lovable Apodaca inspired many remakes of the video, many of them also TikToks, as the content was a much-needed break for many from the barrage of negative election and coronavirus news.  All the remakes brought on a new surge in popularity of the song “Dreams,” which prompted Mick Fleetwood himself to create a TikTok account. Fleetwood created the account on October 4th for the sole purpose of posting a recreation of Apodaca’s video. Stevie Nicks joined the platform on October 14th to post a video of her own. 

Ocean Spray reached out to Apodaca on September 29th - just 4 days after he posted the video.

The stage was certainly set for Ocean Spray to jump in and acknowledge that their juice had inadvertently acquired global fame by responding to the video sooner. Instead, the brand played it cool. They planned and organized their response while the meme unfolded naturally and gained more and more popularity online. Two days after Mick Fleetwood himself had already joined the hype surrounding the viral video, Ocean Spray responded in the form of their chief executive Tom Hayes joining TikTok to post yet another recreation of the video.

When the video went viral, Ocean Spray reached out to Apodaca and learned that he had been longboarding in the video because he was on his way to work, and his car had broken down. Ocean Spray gifted Apodaca a cranberry-red truck stocked full of Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice. While this might be indicative of Ocean Spray plotting a long term marketing strategy, it also speaks to the immediate effects of the viral video. 

Events from late 2019 to the present have prompted many consumers to seek positive and uplifting content and interactions to combat what’s going on in everyday life. Fueled by COVID, there has also been a noticeable uptick in desire for more inclusivity and realness and over storytelling, and with many people working from home, storytelling has started to take on new forms. Those new forms expand from the hilarious and lighthearted to the educational, meaningful, and even life-changing. “New forms” of storytelling can also include creating or expanding mediums such as podcasts or short-form videos on platforms like TikTok.

What’s important for Ocean Spray and all companies wanting to stay engaged with their consumers and remain reactive is that platforms like TikTok - and arguably only TikTok - are changing how companies interact with consumers.  Apodaca’s viral video and its responses are a succinct example of why companies must connect with brand ambassadors - or just everyday consumers -  by listening to social media conversations and reaching out with responses and kudos.