Jon Lajoie: Montreal to Austin via YouTube March 28, 2010
Posted by crossroadmedia in SXSW, YouTube.Tags: Viral Marketing, YouTube
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Had a chance to meet Jon Lajoie in Austin when I was there for SXSW – Jon is a brilliant comedian with an amazing story that starts in Montreal. For those not familiar with Mr. Lajoie, here’s a little background: he first became popular through his YouTube music video “Everyday Normal Guy”, in which he, in ironic contrast to typical rappers, sings about his bland, run-of-the-mill daily activities and his peaceful nature. That is the essence of his genius – an ability to portray mundane aspects of the daily grind into humor with mass-market appeal.
Jon’s YouTube videos have recorded over 50 million aggregate views. That online success has been parlayed into a hit series on FX called “The League”, a show which revolves around five guys who love fantasy football and they will do anything to win the league while dealing with other “everyday” problems.
Lajoie’s Twitter feed had mentioned that the cast of “The League” would be appearing at SXSW, so I took the opportunity to meet Jon. What’s the bottom line? Interactive Marketing professionals can learn alot from not just his methodology and general online success, but his philosophy and how it factors into an ability to achieve mainstream success.
