The Stories of November 2013

Each month we select the biggest stories. It’s always hard to make the final selection, but we have succeeded. There are no specific selection criteria, apart from the fact that we have seen these stories go viral. Why? Because they are funny, beautiful, thought provoking or just stood out. If we have selected the right stories than they should not really be new to you.

Dinovember

This is a great story about two parents wanting to show their kids that imagination is more powerful than iPads or TV. They took their kids’ plastic dinosaurs and brought them to life. Each morning the kids see a different spectacle, often very messy, created by the toy animals. The parents overheard their kids whisper in the morning: “Uh-oh, Mom and Dad are not going to like this.”

This Medium post is a big inspiration for all parents. Just look at all the pictures and stories that they share on the Dinovember Facebook page. Or just do a Goolge image search for Dinovember. Great story and fantastic idea.

Batkid

This is probably the biggest story of November. The Make-a-wish foundation transformed San Francisco into Gotham city and called in the help of Batkid. Why? To grand the wish of 5 year old Miles, who has leukemia. Thanks to thousand volunteers, the police and the city of San Francisco and even a vine from President Obama, Miles had the best day of his live. A big budget story that immediately went viral.

Virgin America Safety Video


All travellers know the drill. When the flight attendant asks your attention to demonstrate the flight safety regulations, you zone out. There could only be one airline to solve this problem: Virgin. How? With humor and great content. Just look at this inflight video. It will grab your attention and just maybe you will learn something new. Virgin also organized the Safety Dance Battle: #VXsafetydance.

24 Hours of Happy

Pharrell Williams had a good year. He was part of the launch of the new Daft Punk album, one of the best stories of 2013. He participated in summer hit Blurred Line from Robin Thicke. But he also released his own hit song from the movie Despicable Me 2: Happy. Being top of the hit charts wasn’t enough so the 22nd of november was transformed into the first 24-hour music video of happiness. If you are in need of some happiness: watch a segment. The production value and execution is world class.

Jean Claude van Damn!


Hands up, who has seen a Jean Claude van Damme movie lately? No? Well you would have probably seen his performance in the latest Volvo ad. To demonstrate the stability of their trucks, they placed the agile actor on top of the machines and have them drive slowly some distance apart, just far enough for Van Damme to execute his epic split perfectly. It was followed by countless spoofs.

Christmas cuteness


Each year UK retailer John Lewis launches a Christmas video. This year the story is about two friends, a bear and a hare, of which one has never celebrated Christmas before. The video is accompanied by a song, performed by Lilly Allen, that has raced to the top of the charts in record time.