The founder of 'Rent a Human' deliberately chose a controversial name to spark conversation and virality. He learned from the mind-blowing effect that quirky Japanese rental services had on Western audiences, creating an inherently shareable idea.
Related Insights
Virality can be engineered by combining three key ingredients: something controversial, something funny, and something taken out of its usual context. According to Eric Zhu, blending these elements makes for a powerful and shareable story, as exemplified by the concept of sperm racing.
A repeatable framework for creating viral stunts is to take a familiar concept—like a toy store, meditation app, or musical—and create the "world's first" version specifically for your target audience. The inherent absurdity of a "meditation app for CISOs" or a "dating app for accountants" generates curiosity and makes the campaign highly shareable.
Eric Zhu's virality stems from a formula: intentionally create or lean into outrageous situations (e.g., running a business from a high school bathroom), document the chaos as content, A/B test various angles, and then push it out for mass distribution, creating a "viral machine."
Observing a competitor's dystopian ad campaign, Dan Siroker realized the worst outcome for a startup isn't bad publicity, but irrelevance. Controversial marketing, even if it gets negative reactions, can generate crucial mindshare and get people talking, which is a prerequisite for user adoption.
To take a niche, controversial product like Electronic Muscle Stimulation (EMS) mainstream, don't just sell the device. Package it as a premium, community-driven experience, similar to Barry's Bootcamp. This model creates virality by being both 'hated and loved', builds a brand, and justifies a higher price point, attracting customers who might otherwise dismiss it as a gimmick.
Gamma's AI launch succeeded not just because of the product, but because they intentionally crafted a "spicy" and provocative tweet designed to spark debate. This drew engagement from influential figures like Paul Graham, massively amplifying their reach beyond what a standard announcement could achieve.
The IVF company Nucleus ran a subway campaign with provocative slogans like 'Have your best baby' to deliberately anger a segment of the population. This 'rage bait' strategy manufactures virality in controversial industries, leveraging negative reactions to gain widespread attention that would otherwise be difficult to achieve.
The team launched "Claude with Ads" as a prank, creating a simple wrapper around Anthropic's API to poke fun at their anti-ad stance. This satirical product launch went viral, attracting thousands of users in a weekend. It serves as a new GTM model: use humor and parody to gain attention, demonstrate technical prowess, and acquire initial users.
The ultimate test of a viral concept is when it attracts inbound investor interest. Eric Zhu published a manifesto for sperm racing and had VCs reaching out to give him money before he had a business plan, indicating the idea itself possessed immense cultural resonance.
People often react negatively to the overuse of AI. By intentionally adding a trivial AI feature to a physical product, you can provoke debate and outrage online. This controversy generates comments and engagement, which feeds social media algorithms and boosts your product's visibility.
