Gallery: Constructing the Summer's Viral Video Hit

  • Airtime
    01

    airtime-2

    Launched Tuesday, Portal A's Airtime was shot in a Pacific Palisades mansion after nearly six months of prep work.
  • 2 Legit 2 Quit
    02

    2-legit-2-quit

    This 2011 campaign video for San Francisco mayoral candidate Ed Lee featured hip-hop dance moves from celebrity rapper MC Hammer and from tech executives like Google VP Marissa Mayer. It spread like wildfire on tech blogs and among Silicon Valley insiders before racking up more than 400,000 views on YouTube. (Oh, and Lee went on to win 60 percent to 40 percent.)
  • Don't Stop Believing
    03

    dont-stop-believing

    Shot in just two hours outside a Major League Baseball division championship game in San Francisco, this three-and-a-half minute tribute to the Giants has racked more than 2.5 million YouTube views. Portal A's Nate Houghteling and Kai Hasson were joined by on-camera lead Ashkon Davaran, who sang a rewrite of the eponymous Journey song. (Oh, and not for nothing, but the Giants ended up plowing forward to their first World Series win in 56 years.)
  • Bankers Vs. Consultants
    04

    bankers-vs-consultants

    This video wallows in Wall Street geekery and jargon, which is just fine: It was created to promote a Hyperion book that lampooned the life of young financiers. And it racked up 1.5 million YouTube views despite the niche positioning.
  • Jawbone Wednesday Was a Good Day
    05

    jawbone-wednesday-was-a-good-day

    Shot in San Francisco, this three-and-a-half-minute music video was loosely based on rapper Ice Cube's "Today Was a Good Day." The *Office Space*-themed vid was designed to tout Jawbone's bluetooth speaker system, the Jambox.
  • White Collar Brawler
    06

    white-collar-brawler

    Portal A co-founders Kai Hasson and Nate Houghteling put on the gloves for a 23-episode [documentary web series](http://whitecollarbrawler.com/) on learning to box. The series ended with a grudge match between the co-producers – and a flattering notice in the New York Times.
  • YouTube Rewind 2011
    07

    youtube-rewind-2011-2

    Google contracted Portal A to assembled its annual retrospective [video](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmnkYyHQqNs). The montage – "heavy on babies and cats," Portal A says – racked up 3.5 million views.
  • Fashion Show on a Plane
    08

    fashion-show-on-a-plane-2

    This partnership between Virgin America and Banana Republic put models on a flight from JFK to SFO wearing BR's spring 2012 line.
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