The recognition of our very own Students’ Union soared to new heights last month after an innocent YouTube video ended up on American TV network CNN…over a year after it was originally posted.
Filmed by student Alex Davis, the now infamous video shows a mass balloon launch for a Raise and Give event that goes awry when almost all of the balloons, destined to travel far and wide, end up popping in a nearby tree only seconds after their release. Finding this amusing, SU officials posted the clip online at YouTube and even entered it, unsuccessfully, to You’ve Been Framed.
Held on Valentines’ Day 2007, tickets bought by students were attached to the red balloons with the proceeds going to Children in Need, Unlimited and National Aids Trust. The student whose balloon had travelled the furthest would then win a music voucher. As the nature of video sharing websites enables users to leave comments, the fact that all the balloons were helping children has not been lost on the viewers, some of whom have left comments suggesting the popping balloons represent “God’s dislike of innocent orphans”.
Entitled ‘UWESU: Funniest balloon launch ever’ the video received a meagre 10,000 views over a one year period until it was picked up by American video sharing website Live Leak where it received over 68,000 hits in just five days. This coverage lead to several other video-based websites picking the clip up in several countries including France and the USA before bouncing back to Bristol to feature in the Evening Post and on thisisbristol.com.
The video then got picked up by televisions’ king and queen of daytime TV, Richard & Judy, who featured it on the ‘Funny Five’ segment of their primetime Channel 4 show. Both Richard and Judy were amused at the popping fiasco but UWESU were bumped down to second place after an American clip of kissing monkeys stole the show.
Star of the show and Activities Co-ordinator Chris Anthony, one of the official balloon releasers, took time out from dodging the paparazzi to talk to the Western Eye about his thoughts on the news that the video has gone global. When asked about the wide spread coverage the video is receiving Anthony commented “It’s unbelievable! The thing I can’t get my head around is that the release happened on Valentine’s Day 2007 but it’s only just gone viral. That it’s been shown on CNN on their prime time news show just amazes me.” Going on to discuss his disappointment at missing the top place on Richard & Judy’s ‘Funniest Five’, Anthony spoke of his trauma after the event, “I couldn’t even look at a balloon for a month after the event” and suggested that a sequel to the video looked unlikely “as much fun as it was, I don’t think I could ever bring myself to release another balloon into the air.”
At the time of going to print the video has received over 300,000 views and 500 comments in several different countries and the SU have recently been contacted by an Australian production company who would like to feature the video on a new television show. While for the balloons the only way was down, it looks like the notoriety of the SU is on the way up!
