All of the above joined
soccer stars, a bending iPhone, a beer commercial and a dose of street
activism on the video site's list of the most popular posts of 2014.
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S.A. Wardega, a Polish actor, director and Web prankster, scored the top spot with "Mutant Giant Spider Dog," which had scared up more than 113 million views since he posted it in September.
In it, Wardega films
people in everyday situations into which he unleashes his otherwise cute
dog, Chica, wearing a costume that gives the pooch eight giant, creepy
spider legs.
It wasn't without a dose of controversy.
"Someone reported a
SpiderDog video to the prosecution claiming that threatening (sic)
endangered the life of the people who were there," Wardega, whose first
name is Sylwester, wrote in September on his Facebook page. "I wonder who will go to jail? Me or Chica? Or maybe a spider costume?"
Taking the No. 3 spot, behind a Nike ad
featuring soccer stars like Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney, was "First Kiss,"
a social experiment of sorts in which complete strangers are brought
together and asked to kiss each other.
Except, this one wasn't
exactly as it first appeared. It was commissioned by Wren Studio, a
small clothing company, to showcase a new clothing line. Almost all of
those awkward strangers were, in fact, models.
.
"In all fairness, the
people in the video could still be classified as 'strangers' by
definition, but that's like calling a kid who plays Call of Duty for 12
hours a day 'an amateur'," read a Complex article titled "That Adorable
'First Kiss' Video That Everyone Is Talking About Is a Fake."
"Never trust the Internet."
Director Tatia Pilieva
said there was never an intent to deceive anyone, noting that the video
begins with the words "Wren presents ..." and the clothing company is
mentioned in the credits.
"It felt so real and
sincere and it was," she told the New York Times, saying each couple
really did meet for the first time the day they shot. "They shed all
these layers in front of our eyes and in front of the cameras and that
sweetness and kindness resonated with people."
The Internet appears not to mind. The video has more than 94 million views.
In fifth place is the video that launched a million tech-blog posts -- the "iPhone 6 Plus Bend Test."
Unbox Therapy,
a Web video series focusing on consumer electronics, posted a video
after online reports began popping up of Apple's massive, new phone
bending in people's pockets.
.
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The September video,
which has racked up more than 59 million views, shows a host, Lewis
Hilsenteger, bending one of the aluminum phones with his hands.
Not that the problem, if it is one, has scared many folks away. The iPhone 6 and 6 Plus sold 10 million units in their first weekend on the market and have continued to break sales records in the months since.
Another creepy prank, "Devil Baby Attack," took the No. 8 spot with nearly 49 million views and the team behind the goofy "Epic Rap Battles" scored with the No. 9 video, "Goku vs. Superman," which got nearly 41 million views.
A more serious effort
rounded out the Top 10 list. Tenth place went to "10 Hours Walking in
NYC as a Woman," by anti-harassment group Hollaback.
In it, a woman in jeans and a T-shirt is recorded walking as, one after
another, men comment on her appearance, sometimes aggressively.
The video, which has
more than 37.5 million views, sparked conversations everywhere about the
prevalence of street harassment, as well as issues ranging from the
role race, culture and geography play in public conversation to Web
abuse (the subject of the video received rape and death threats online).
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