What’s happening? On September 25th, 2020, Nathan Apodaca (better known by his username @420doggface208 on TikTok) had a mishap with his car. “My car, it just shuts off sometimes” said Nathan to People Magazine. Luckily for Nathan, he had alternative means of transportation. He took his long board from the back seat, a bottle of his favorite Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice, and decided to cruise down the highway, all while record himself on TikTok listening to “Dreams” by Fleetwood Mac. The series of events from there are so 2020 you won’t believe what you’re reading. 

• Nathans Video Went Viral: And not just a little viral… over 27M views and 5M likes! 
• Mick Fleetwood Recreates Viral Video: Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mack recreated Nathans video on social and of course, that went viral too!
• Ocean Spray Took Notice: Beside themselves with the amount of free press they were getting, Ocean Spray knew they needed to get involved. So, what did they do? Nathan only recorded the viral video because his car broke down, so Ocean Spray decided to buy him a new car, loaded with enough Ocean Sprays for his next few adventures.

Learnings and Implications

To Hack Culture, You Must Hack Authentic Viral Moments: We know that it is becoming increasingly more difficult to break through the clutter these days. Brands responding on Twitter is so 2019. If you insert yourself authentically into the conversation, it will pay dividends. The cost of the new car purchased for Nathan doesn’t come near the media value in free press Ocean Spray has received over the past few weeks. It’s a small price to pay for virality.

Act Quickly: Viral videos have a short shelf life. Something new and viral pops up every day. Ocean Spray spotted this opportunity early, seized the moment, and was rewarded for it with and amount of free press any brand would dream about. If they had not acted as quickly as they did, it would not have been successful.