Have you heard “Damn Daniel” yet? If you haven’t, hop on any social media platform and experience the video that has captivated readers and brands. The hilarious 30 second video made its appearance on many social media outlets and has taken Twitter by storm. The video starring Daniel Lara with a voiceover repeating “Damn, Daniel” and “Back at it again with the white vans” has been made into memes, brand advertisements, remix, and re-makes throughout social media. The 30 second video was uploaded on February 15th and has been retweeted more than 120,000 times and liked more than 145,000 times.
Many people are saying the “Damn Daniel” video is the new version of the “What Are Thoooose” video. This is a trend that we see as consumers throughout social media. We can all remember the picture of the dress. People could not agree if it was blue and black or white and gold. I’m sure everyone remembers the Target worker Alex that someone uploaded onto Twitter. #AlexfromTarget became viral and he appeared on the Ellen Degeneres Show. These videos go viral due to their humorous content and amount of viewers that watch on Vine, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. However once famous, marketers use these videos to capitalize on the popularity of the product.
As shown above, Zappos was quick to use #DamnDaniel as an advertisement shown on Twitter. Other brands such as DSW, AXE, Clorox, Denny’s, and even Liverpool FC all took part of the #DamnDaniel meme. The one brand that should have stood out on social media was Vans. But, other advertisements were more effective. Clorox and AXE seemed to capitalize on #DamnDavid showing more creative approaches with the meme.
This is why it’s important for companies to stay relevant on all social media accounts. These videos are outlets where companies can reach a younger audience simply through social media. It is important to reply quick, be relevant and humorous. This is where brands can either make or break how consumers view them on social media platforms. It is important for companies to embrace these opportunities the right way.
What is your opinion on videos and memes and how they over take our social media accounts? What is your view on the situations? Do you think Vans advertisement was good or did other brands beat them with creativity?
Feel free to comment below with your take on the world of memes!
-Erin Fouhy, Sarah Garner, Caitlin Rodermund, and Megan Suggs.
IMC Hawks Blog 
Social media’s role in advertising is now wholly undeniable in this day and age. I cannot count the number of ads I’ve seen within the past couple of years based off of internet fodder and social media novelties. It is making everything much more instantaneous in nature, much like the stock market. Companies have to monitor what is popping off in order to have the most relevant ads.
Hi Zach! Thank you for commenting! We completely agree with you. Many brands are using videos, memes, etc. from social media to advertise their business. Very nice comparison between this subject and the stock market!
It is incredible how fast social media spreads to all platforms of advertising. In a way, it rules our generation and influences what we buy or what we don’t. The fact that this phenomenon started not even a week ago and marketing is already on top of making sure they take advantage of what millenials are watching and tuned into is incredible.
Hi June! Thank you for commenting! We completely agree with you! The “Damn Daniel” meme took over all social media accounts, including brands. You are completely right about brands taking advantage of what our generation is watching!
It is true that we live in a consumer culture where social media in a way does rule our generation. It continues to become more and more popular and prominent in our culture. It is very apparent for brands to quickly catch onto these viral videos on social media in order to get attention from millennials. Thank you for your comment!
It seems like videos don’t just get popular for being entertaining, but also for the discussion that surrounds them. Once a meme such as “Damn Daniel” goes viral, many spin-off jokes and comments about it are posted and reposted in addition to the original. It’s like being a part of a huge inside joke shared with everyone on the internet, so it’s definitely beneficial for brands to stay relevant by joining in on this.
What great insight on the popularity of this video. There were plenty of meme, jokes, and comments that circulated around this video. We agree that it is important for brands to stay involved with social media. Thank you so much for your input!
The speed at which snapchat videos such as the one discussed here spread throughout all variations of social media is astounding. I first saw this video on Facebook, and then later that same day, I saw it again on Twitter and then the following day on Tumblr. Within a matter of hours, the content of that video reached hundreds of thousands of people of all ages. Through that act of content sharing, companies were able to track the data and subsequently contract advertising agencies to produce ads promoting products related to the content. It is absolutely fascinating how social media and this new generation of participatory culture has such a heavy influence on the decisions made and actions taken by large companies.
We agree that this video in a matter of hours was shared on all social media sites including the ones you listed along with Vine and others. It is so interesting that social media has such an influence on our advertisements and marketing efforts. Social media is continuing to become more and more apparent in our everyday life. We appreciate your comment and opinions!
I didn’t know about this video until I read this post. I guess I haven’t looked at twitter over the past week. But this is great. Its crazy how fast tweets and videos and spread into something like this. I don’t really think the video is all that funny though but thats just me.
Thank you for your comment! We agree it is crazy that tweets and videos have becoming viral enough to be as popular as this video. We have heard mixed reviews on whether people enjoy this video or not. We appreciate your opinion and feedback.