Deconstructing Virality: How Tahini Restaurants Captivated 1.4 Billion Views

While many brands struggle to make an impact on social media by relying on outdated trends and attempting to stay relevant, there are occasional success stories, such as the Canadian fast casual restaurant, Tahini Restaurants. They consistently achieve viral success with videos like this one that garnered 23 million views.

Tahini's success can be attributed to a clever format—2 Characters, 1 Lightbulb—where a novice's misconception is debunked by a wiser character. With this format, they’ve garnered over 1.4 BILLION views and 2 million subscribers - not bad for a locally-owned restaurant. In this particular video, a rude customer is humorously dealt with by a fed-up restaurant worker. Let's analyze the specific factors that contributed to the video's success.

• First, the video's clever and absurd comedy creates tension, as the obnoxious customer demands more hot sauce, setting the stage for an inevitable disaster.
• Secondly, viewers connect with the food service worker, empathizing with the experience of dealing with a difficult customer. Many can relate to similar customer service nightmares and feel a sense of vindication when karma catches up with the rude customer.
• Lastly, the "Jenga Effect" is at play, as tension builds with the escalating problem. The customer becomes increasingly belligerent, more hot sauce is added, and the water is slowly and agonizingly lifted from the counter, leading to a satisfying outcome.

In essence, going viral doesn't necessarily require a big brand or a big budget. It demands a strong storytelling structure and a solid understanding of the factors that contribute to content's virality.

So the next time you create content, don’t imitate the big brands and don’t cross your fingers, hoping for a lucky break. Instead, ground your strategy in research, analysis, and understanding the fundamentals of why content goes viral. If you want to explore more about our process, we’d love to connect with you.