Shortly following Hillary Clinton's comeback in the 2008 New Hampshire Democratic Primary, will.i.am put together a star-studded video that turned a Barack Obama speech into a music video that quickly became a widespread inspirational and cultural phenomenon. Capturing the zeitgeist of the growing Obamamania, the video racked up 4 million views within a week, and cemented Obama's status as the 'cool' candidate who had his finger on the pulse of the internet and young people. This video turned "Yes We Can" into a rallying cry that would carry Obama to the Presidency. -AM



Produced by San Francisco ad agency Cutwater for Levis, Guys Backflip Into Jeans is one of the best and most successful instances of viral marketing on the Internet. The video -- which features two guys hopping, jumping, and flipping into a pair of jeans -- garnered more than 1 million views on YouTube in a week, and 14 million views to date. And at the end of the day, most people were too entertained by what they saw to realize (or mind) that they just spent almost two minutes watching an ad. -JB



The Shining is a horror movie classic, a maniacal thriller featuring a star turn by Jack Nicholson. In the first of a trend that would last for years, 'Shining' repositions the spooktastic Stanley Kubrick blockbuster as a family-friendly buddy comedy via a remixed trailer that touts Peter Gabriel on back-up and flashes of Jack's toothy grin. Hilariously subversive, 'Shining' manages to point out the formulaic Hollywood preview that so often makes us look like total dum-dums -- and set the stage for many similar remixes to come in the future. -EG





Is the community of Mobile, Alabama comprised of quiet geniuses? It may be, according to the classic video pulled from a local news affiliate that documents the townspeople's insistence on witnessing a real-life leprechaun who frolicks in the night (but disappears upon the gaze of a flashlight). Are these people for real? Is a Leprechaun flute something that exists, even in folklore? Was the "amateur sketch" drawn by the leprechaun himself? We may never know the answers to these questions, but we'll always have the video to prove others were asking themselves the same things. -EG


Released during the 2004 Presidential campaign, this video produced by JibJab set a high standard for online cartoon political parody. Set to the tune of an classic American folk song, the video features large-headed animated versions of both bufoonish candidates singing about their unique qualifications for the job. In skewering both sides equally, JibJab ensured that the video could break out of the conservative or liberal echo chambers and reach the mainstream. They continued the franchise in '08 with 'Time for Some Campaignin'.' -AM