--- title: Dollar Shave Club Isn't the Only Brand That Rode Funny Viral Ads to Success description: Beyond Dollar Shave Club, HelloFlo, Dos Equis, and Cardstore.com have also made it big with viral video ad campaigns. authors: - name: Martha C. White role: Writer url: https://money.com/author/martha-c-white/ education: BA, English, Princeton University at_money_since: 2015 articles: 350 covers: - Business - Banking - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Debt - Economy and Politics - Education - Federal Reserve Rate Cuts - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology published: '2016-07-20T16:46:57.000Z' modified: '2024-05-16T11:28:00.000Z' section: Business tags: - Advertising - commercials - marketing - pubdesk - viral - viral ads - Viral Videos word_count: 420 canonical: https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-viral-ad-videos-sales/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Viral](https://img.money.com/2016/07/viral-video-em-461229545.jpg) Dollar Shave Club parlayed a tongue-in-cheek tagline (“Our blades are f---ing great”) into an online viral video ad sensation. Now, four years and nearly 23 million YouTube views later, the startup is getting a $1 billion buyout from Unilever. Dollar Shave Club isn't the only brand that experienced a major boost in consumer awareness (and sales) from a well-played video marketing campaign going viral. In fact, It’s no wonder Unilever knew a viral marketing hit when they saw one: Its Dove brand’s Real Beauty videos are consistently [high-ranking](http://adage.com/article/the-viral-video-chart/dove-my-beauty-my-say-viral-video-chart/305031/). Have a laugh by watching the original Dollar Shave Club pitch, as well as a few other highly successful online ads below: [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUG9qYTJMsI) ***Read Next:* [12 Products Marketed to One Gender for No Good Reason](https://money.com/gender-marketing-products-pen-laundry-yogurt/?iid=sr-link1)** **Dos Equis' "Most Interesting Man in the World"** This Heineken-owned brand vaulted from being a small regional player to mainstream stardom (and [Internet-meme fame](https://money.com/success-most-interesting-man-in-the-world-ad/)) when it rolled out its "Most Interesting Man in the World" campaign, which ran for nearly a decade before it shot its adventurous character into space earlier this year. Sales grew by double-digit percentages, according to *[Advertising Age](http://adage.com/article/behind-the-work/story-dos-equis-interesting-man-world/233112/)*, while other import beers struggled. [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EUdSjpc9-70) **HelloFlo** Feminine hygiene wouldn't seem to be a product category that lends itself to blunt, humorous advertising. But that's why this campaign took off when it launched in 2013. Offering mail-order subscriptions of feminine hygiene products, business for the HelloFlo period starter kit was slow at the outset, founder Naama Bloom told [*Fast Company*](http://www.fastcompany.com/3042488/strong-female-lead/how-a-viral-video-about-periods-launched-this-startups-overnight-success). But the "[Camp Gyno](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XnzfRqkRxU)" video opened up a the market for HelloFlo, and attracted the attention of Proctor & Gamble, which threw its marketing checkbook and the name recognition of its Always brand behind HelloFlo, even creating a second video in the same funny-yet-cringe-worthy vein. [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NEcZmT0fiNM) ***Read Next:* [Here’s How to Buy Dollar Shave Club Razors for Less Money on Amazon](https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-razors-dorco-amazon/)** **Cardstore.com** When greeting card company American Greetings wanted to get the word out about its new platform for creating customizable cards, it pegged Mother's Day as the right time to launch a video ad that went for the element of surprise. Accompanied by the hashtag #worldstoughestjob, the video (which has been viewed more than 26 million times on YouTube since it launched two years ago) sets up a mock job interview that sounds like the position from hell: Long hours, no breaks, demanding and high-pressure tasks — the works. The mic-drop moment is, of course, when the "interviewer" reveals that the job interview is fake but the job is real: being a mom. [Watch video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HB3xM93rXbY) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-viral-ad-videos-sales/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Business", "item": "https://money.com/business/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Advertising", "item": "https://money.com/advertising/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Dollar Shave Club Isn't the Only Brand That Rode Funny Viral Ads to Success" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-viral-ad-videos-sales/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-viral-ad-videos-sales/", "name": "Dollar Shave Club Isn't the Only Brand That Rode Funny Viral Ads to Success", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2016-07-20T16:46:57.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-viral-ad-videos-sales/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/dollar-shave-club-viral-ad-videos-sales/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-05-16T11:28:00.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Dollar Shave Club Isn't the Only Brand That Rode Funny Viral Ads to Success", "articleSection": "Business", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2016/07/viral-video-em-461229545.jpg", "width": 3888, "height": 2592, "caption": "Viral" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martha C. 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