Video Clip of the Year: A Cracked 64 ripoff

The beginning of the year is the time to look back on what has just passed us by - through Top of the Year lists.  While many will be publishing their lists of the best of 2012, I'm more interested in what happens over at Cracked; they try to identify what typified the year that was.  This is, to me, far more interesting, and so, I will be offering my take on the same 8 categories that Cracked's columnists wrote on.

Movie

Tweet

Person

Song

Video Game

Photo

*     *     *

Video Clip of the Year: Call Me Maybe - US Olympic Swimming Team

I'm just going to link to the video right here, because in the past I've had some difficulty with embedding video clips on my blog.  If it hadn't been for Gangnam Style blowing up the way it did, Call Me Maybe would have probably been my runner up in 'Song of the Year'.  For the better part of the year, it was everywhere, and I mean everywhere.  On the radio, playing in the car passing by you on the street, in an Olympic viral video; just everywhere.  I tried to convince myself that, while I liked Ben Howard's cover, I didn't like the original, but I don't think that's true; it's catchy in the best possible way.  I do prefer the Howard cover though.

Anyhow, the US Olympic swim team produced that video, of them all lip syncing along with the song, to the tune of 10 million YouTube views.  It was a brilliant marketing move: take an immensely popular song that is difficult to actively dislike, and show your athletes singing the hell out of it.  Throw in some hand phones and you're golden (hopefully not only in the metaphorical sense given that it's the Olympics).

Usain Bolt's viral video just repeated that line over and over.

The London Olympics were the most watched Olympics in history, and the best viral video Olympics in history as well.  The US' video also happens to sum up what the IOC tries to tell you about the Olympics: It's all about unity and the bringing together of nations.  They forget to then mention that nations are brought together so as to try to crush them in competition and return home with the most impressive medal count, but hey, half way isn't bad.  Call Me Maybe unintentionally manages to capture the IOC's message, given that the American team is just enjoying the hell out of a Canadian singer's song.  To give it bonus points, it was written by another Canadian as well.

Going to use pretty much any excuse to work in Josh Ramsay references from time to time.

Runner Up: Call Me Maybe - Chatroulette

Seriously, this song was everywhere, and I would argue was at its best when it was a video of someone dancing along to it.  This is by far my favourite of such videos, seriously, if anything on YouTube deserves a view, it's this.  Many many times.