The hype of going viral is still being pushed in Malaysia and isn’t slowing so far. That said, I cringe when I hear a company say “we do viral videos” without mention of a success story to back it up; at least even a failed experiment.
The gutsy lady who fought off snatch thieves
But once in a while, we do get honest creators of viral campaigns who correct the misconceptions which may have risen. One such case was the video of a lady who fought back snatch thieves Muay Thai style.
According to the replies from the Malaysian Crime Awareness Campaign indicated above, its purpose for producing the video was to remind the public about being aware of your surroundings despite having parked your cars within your home compound.
On the other hand, without having to read too much between the lines, they were also indirectly saying the video may have been to promote their self-defense workshops. 😉
And in terms viral success, the campaign definitely covered ground online with:
- Facebook shares exceeding 4,000
- Likes reaching 1,000
- Comment exchanges exceeding 300
As for the media, possibly without knowing the source, have begun spinning this into a real life “another lady was robbed” segment. Some of which even thought it was headline material and it deserved a mention on their front page.
Always 2 sides to a coin
Is one of the life philosophies I believe. People will always have opposite views and you could see it in this viral campaign.
The people who shared the video may have felt empowered by the woman having beat up her attackers. In the comments, however, people were more focused on how the video was fake, with some believing it communicated the message to act upon attackers than being more aware (which was the main goal).
Well, I suppose this shows we’re really only human.