from the startling -- >> if i went and did that, i'd be either arrested or shot or shot, then arrested. >> -- to the silly. >> you're like, wow, that kid's got some, to get up there. >> to the sublime. >> why do they think they can get away with it? >> viral videos, short moments caught on camera that we can't stop watching and like a virus, pass along. >> first thing you do is send it to ten of your friends. >> people are flooding the internet with videos hoping they'll go viral. >> everybody is making videos now. >> oh, my god, i can put my kid on there and get a million views and then be on david letterman? >> being with a guy putting a cat down their pants. >> why do people love cats so much? >> the videos can be riveting? but can you believe everything you see? >> if that's fake i get angry with people.

>> you can fake that completely. >> have you been fooled? what's real and what's not? >> this one had me fooled 110%. >> "caught on camera -- viral videos, real or fake?" welcome to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. they are everywhere -- on websites like youtube, embedded in blogs, even in your e-mail. and chances are you've watched them and maybe even forwarded on one or two along to someone else. the videos you're about to see were all popular. some are funny. some are poignant. all amazing clips. but they may have left you wondering, are they real or are they fake? ♪

>> in this video, a couple of guys essentially climb a fence, elude the secret service, run up to air force one and put a graffiti tag on air force one while this is all being videotaped. >> you're like, wait a minute, are they going to do something to air force one? you're like, what is going on here? this is crazy. >> did someone really break into andrews air force base and spray paint or tag the president's plane? >> i think people really want to believe it's true. >> the video hit the internet in 2006 and quickly became a sensation. >> the first reaction is always, is this real?

and if this is real, how can this be real? and what does this mean for the security of our country maybe if this video is real? >> so did it really happen? was the video real or fake? >> it just doesn't pass the sniper test really is what it would be. if i were to run up to the air force one in all black with a backpack, i don't think i would survive that run. if i went and did that, i would be either arrested or shot or shot, then arrested. >> i think what we were trying to accomplish was a pop culture moment. >> marc ecko is a designer and a video game developer. the air force one caper was part of a viral marketing campaign for a game called "getting up." >> it was to get people to talk about the game and to author something that was culturally relevant. character uses graffiti to 

protest a corrupt and  totalitarian authority. mark and his creative team brai stormed for a stunt that would  bring attention to the game. >> the symbol of air force one  was so loaded, and the absurdit of me being able to hop a fence with a spray can was just so  absurd, we said, we got to do  this. we got to figure this one out. >> ecko teamed up with advertising agency and creative shop droga5 to make it happen. >> the first thing was, i guess we have to rent a 747. >> they found a plane. >> oh, my goodness. >> and painted it to look like  air force one. >> we wanted it to look as  authentic as possible, because that's what's going to get  people to raise their eyebrows  and go, really, is this real? the layout of the fence and where the plane would be in relation to that fence was very very authentic.

the hangar size nearby was very, very authentic. even the sign of andrews air force base are the real signs. >> while in theory they weren't doing anything illegal, the  production was not without risk >> we start the shoot and we  pull out a 747 and it was just  like that holy [ bleep ] moment is this really happening? and all of a sudden helicopters start flying about. police showed up. there was no shortage of creative tension that night. >> if we had somehow put this video out there and someone had panicked and stopped a presidential flight from  happening, we might have been i trouble. luckily, that didn't happen. >> they manage to avoid a  national security incident and  created a video that got  international attention. the air force one stunt hit the internet in 2006 during the  early wave of viral videos. just a few years later,  skepticism and its competition have risen exponentially. >> the medium of viral video wa still very new.

the perfect window of  opportunity there that existed, that really doesn't exist today where the suspension of  disbelief existed around videos you automatically suppose that  everything you saw on the  internet was real. and that window allowed for this opportunity to do this kind  of -- to use viral video as the perfect medium to put together  this stunt, if you will. >> you're competing with a guy  that put a cat down his pants or something. you have to be genuinely  entertaining because the next  video below you will be funny o cute or outrageous. you'd better make an impression >> that mark ecko video was so creative. it was so well executed it  looked and felt like somebody  was breaking in somewhere. it gave that you self-doubt, is this real or fake. so the first thing you do is yo send it to ten of your friends. real, fake, i don't know. >> from a highly planned and  produced video to one with a 

concept that couldn't have been more simple. a man named matt who likes to dance. >> i love it. it's totally captivating. >> what matt did was just for fun was traveling around the  world and at every location he  would basically dance a little  jig. he edited these together and creating a video of himself  dancing jigs around the world. it was well done and creative  video at the time. >> but along with the notoriety came the detractors. some suggested the video was  fake, that there was no way he could go to all these places,  that the video was constructed with special effects and green  screen technology. >> there's certain situations  where i see a video and i think, if that's fake, i get angry at people. i'd be like, what are you -- i  can't believe you did that. i was emotionally invested in  this thing because i thought ha it guy was actually there. >> could one guy really dance in all these places? >> i'd be ticked.

i'd be ticked if it was a green screen fake. does anybody know what this guy does for a living? >> traveling god's green earth or standing in front of the green screen? when we come back. follow the wings.

what makes the sleep number store different? you walk into a conventional mattress store, it's really not about you. they say, "well, if you wanted a firm bed you can lie on one of those." we provide the exact individualization that your body needs. oh, wow! that feels really good. it's about support where you find it most comfortable. to celebrate 25 years of better sleep-for both of you - sleep number introduces the silver edition bed set, at incredible savings of $1,000 for a limited time. only at the sleep number store, where queen mattresses start at just $699. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. today i own 165 wendy's restaurants. and i get my financing from ge capital. but i also get stuff that goes way beyond banking. we not only lend people money, we help them save it. [ junior ] ge engineers found ways to cut my energy use.

[ cheryl ] more efficient lighting helps junior stay open later... [ junior ] and serve more customers. so you're not just getting financial capital... [ cheryl ] you're also getting human capital. not just money. knowledge. [ junior ] ge capital. they're not just bankers... we're builders. [ junior ] ...and they've helped build my business.

in 2005, a video game designer named matt harding posted this video of himself online. >> some friends found it and they put it on their blogs and it ended up getting passed around. >> before he knew it, the video had more than a million hits. >> it sort of kept having these spikes where it would get bigger and bigger and more people would come in, different countries. suddenly sweden is watching the video. suddenly south korea is watching the video. late in 2005 it had this really big spike. i was getting called by tv shows and newspapers. >> and it certainly caught my attention.

will you dance with me? >> sure. >> but for all the attention the video got, people said it couldn't be real, that the exotic locations were really a combination of editing magic or green screen technology. so was the video real? or fake? >> the video is not fake. it's not a hoax. it's not manufactured. there's no special effects involved. i really did go to all those places and set up a camera and danced. i started out working as a video game designer. so in 2003, i quit my job. i took the money i saved up to go on a trip around the world. i spent six months traveling to about 17 different countries. and a few months into that trip, i was traveling with a friend. we were in vietnam taking pictures. >> i was just like you should do that stupid dance you do on camera. >> we shot it and i liked the way it looked and decided to keep on doing that everywhere i

went on this trip around the world. i put the clips together thinking it would a nice memento for me to have of my trip around the world and it might be amusing to some of my friends. i didn't think it would be interesting to anyone who wasn't me or someone i knew. and people started passing it around. >> where can he go where somebody will not ask him to do that dance? >> when the dance in that video came about, there weren't a lot of people who were going around filming themselves, number one. number two, there weren't a lot of people editing them together. number three, there weren't a lot of people taking a creative approach of stringing them together in one specific video and, four, actively wanting to share it. matt came about at a time when people didn't know that you could do this. and people weren't actually trying to achieve fame. they were doing it for fun and to share it with friends and family. today, would that video be successful? hard to know. >> by the end of this one, it's so inspirational about the world and coming together as a people and, like -- you know what i ç[

mean? >> the video got the attention  of stride gum, which made matt an offer he couldn't refuse. >> stride gum is a chewing gum  company that was about to come into market in 2006. and they called me up and they  said -- they asked if i'd be  interested in making another  video with their help. and so in 2006, i spent six  months traveling to 39 countrie on all seven continents to make the second dancing video with them. >> he got stride gum to fund hi next trip, which is -- i mean,  think that is the goal for any  viral video, is get somebody to pay you to make the next one. >> people started achieving real fame through the internet. marketers suddenly paid attention and increasingly saw  more brands reach out to people with a dedicated following and  try to integrate their brands  with them or increasingly have  them create content on their  behalf. they realized this would be a wonderful way to get exposure without having to pay for exposure. >> the second video was so 

popular, matt did a third one. this time he called in reinforcements. >> my favorite clip in that  from. where i danced with a bunch of kids in a village, and i thought that's more interesting. i should be doing that all along. so i went back to stride and i told them this idea for another video where i'd take all the  e-mails from people all over the world who said, why didn't you  my country?n and i would go there and invite them to come dance with me. and we got thousands of people  to come out and dance with me for this third video. >> there is movie star fame. rock star fame. even reality show fame. but this was different. >> we came up with this term  e-lebrity, somebody who came  through to fame in the internet >> with that and e-lebrity  status, there was no going back to day job. >> i'm working on a book about  making the videos. from time to time i get invited

to go speak at colleges, grade  schools, corporate events and  things like that. and i've been enjoying being at home as much as possible becaus for the last five years i've nov spent a lot of time here in on seattle.fnfffffófff >> but the fame and fortune cam from traveling the world. so can we expect to see matt  dancing again? >> there's a few places that i  still haven't managed to get to number one on the list is, and probably will always be outer  space. i'd love to get up into space. i hope someday that i'll figure out some way to get up there. a trip to the department of motor vehicles could be one of  the most universally dreaded things we all have to do. but in this next viral video,  two filmmakers appear to make  trip after trip to the richmond dmv willingly and in costume. and each time, they come out  with a new license. >> it's already pretty 

interesting to see some of the spray painting hair on their head. it's kind of a good look. a little non-pc racial humor. definitely popular, whether you love it or hate it. funny idea. i like the concept a lot. i was instantly skeptical because you could fake that completely and there was zero  footage of them in the dmv. >> how are they letting them redo licenses that often? >> the video took off generating millions of hits and attracting media attention. >> let's begin with a couple of filmmakers in virginia when they took artistic licenses when they went to get their driver's licenses. >> in post-9/11 america, could anyone really get away with this? find out if it really happened. viral came fake" returns.  in high school, i had a physics teacher by the name of mr. davies. he made physics more than theoretical, he made it real for me.

we built a guitar, we did things with electronics and mother boards. that's where the interest in engineering came from. so now, as an engineer, i have a career that speaks to that passion. thank you, mr. davies.

the chevy cruze eco also offers 42 mpg on the highway. actually, it's cruze e-co, not ec-o. just like e-ither. or ei-ther. or e-conomical. [ chuckling ] or ec-onomical. pa-tato, po-tato, huh? actually, it's to-mato, ta-mato. oh, that's right. [ laughs ]

[ car door shuts ] [ male announcer ] visit your local chevy dealer today. now very well qualified lessees can get a 2012 chevy cruze ls for around $159 per month. e.p.a. estimated 36 miles per gallon highway. driver's license pictures are notoriously bad. but in 2006, filmmakers dave stewart and will carsola took bad to a whole new level. >> this video features a couple of jack [ bleep ].

dressing up ridiculously and getting their photos taken for a driver's license in virginia. a great concept. it's that kind of subversive but really stupid and silly, smart/dumb idea. the pictures are pretty funny and spray painting hair on somebody's head is also pretty funny. the unibrow is great. >> they were like, weren't you just in here? >> i'm not going to get away with this. >> like so many viral videos, this one left people wondering. >> there was zero footage of them in the actual dmv. >> look how dirty my face is, dude. >> actually didn't believe this much at all. anyone can photo shop a driver's license to have that picture. but at the same time, it's funnier if it is true. >> i'm going to go get me another one. >> did these two filmmakers really pull it off? are the licenses and the video real? >> it's a hard real or fake one.

nowadays, dmv getting a government-issued i.d. isn't going to be so easy. >> apparently, at least in this case, it is. the video and the licenses are all real. but when we spoke to will and dave, it was clear to them the video was more than just viral. >> we created a beautiful piece of art. art. art. art.? >> we are not just men. we are art, art, artists. >> it was art. >> can you please say that? this is where we find our  inspiration inside of here. >> their art seemed to have no  off switch. >> well, i like to think of  myself as a canvas. for the moment, this is my true self. i can't help being me. it's just who i am. >> they showed up to our  interview dressed in garbage  bags and wearing plastic  sunglasses. will wore a high top sneaker on one hand while dave wrapped his

in tin foil and painted eyes on his eyelids. >> well, the idea came in a dream. the cosmos is aligned. >> and now we are huge hollywood movie stars. >> we are geniuses, and we  deserve that kind of attention. >> i just wanted to really capture the struggle of people. i'm sorry. what was the question? i get a little lost in myself. >> this is rad. rad is our only friend. >> the more we talked to them,  the more we wondered, was the we went to their website, where they wrote about sitting for an interview with us. they said they decided to help  us spice it up a bit and answer our questions as art-fashion snobs. so what was the real story with the video? we went back to 2006. and one of the first television interviews will and dave did when the media picked up on their stories.

>> i decided just randomly to go to the dmv and try to get a funny picture. i got away with crossing my eye and looking ridiculous. from there, it just escalated. dave went a couple of times. and we just kind of tried to to each other's driver's license. >> this one is going to be the one that definitely does not work. >> dave got away with painting  the top of his head black and buck teeth. that surprised us a lot. it was hilarious but at the sam time it was kind of scary. the only thing i could think to top that was paint my whole face red. >> for some weird reason i thin people will look at me kind of strange. >> we were definitely surprised every time we walked out, we  were completely in shock. before we went in we said we're definitely not going to be able to get away with this. every time we were more and mor surprised. >> they were not buying it at all. finally i was up at the booth talking to the guy for 20 óóó minutes. he kept stalling going in the back. everyone was looking at me. >> it was especially a surprise to the richmond dmv who became aware of the stunt after it was publicized in the local paper.

the dmv was less than pleased  and demanded the licenses back. will and dave claim they lost  them. the virginia dmv said it update the policy and will deny a  license or i.d. card to anyone who appears in disguise. >> i thought these guys are  awesome. with this  idea? why did they think they could get away with this? what they did was they managed to go get a number of driver's  license pictures with completely different identities in a post-9/11 world. this is remarkable and it caused a major outcry. >> maybe one of the reasons i  was a little skeptical is reall the dmv is that lax about  letting stuff go with the way  security works in this country? >> will and dave said they meant no harm and maybe even did some good. >> it was a joke and escalated  to an issue of national  security. did we expect that? no.

but i think it's a good thing that it did. people do know someone can get a license that easy. >> you can call them filmmakers, pranksters. >> we're heroes. artists. >> we don't like to put  boundaries on what we do. >> whatever you want to call  them, will and dave have made a video that for a moment anyway  captured people's attention. but has that attention changed them? you decide. >> everybody just wants to be our friend now. our inner circle, we are just glowing. >> all that really matters in life is that you're either  famous or you're not. and we are famous. >> now we go from two guys  getting replacement licenses to what appears to be a young man  practicing to get his first one >> in this series of videos, a  kid signs up for driving licens and essentially torments the instructors by being the worst  possible driver. >> this driving student takes  call after call on his cell  phone, ignoring and infuriating his driving instructors. >> just hang up the [ bleep ]  phone. >> that kid is hysterical. he is hysterical.

>> what kind of 15-year-old  signs up for driving lessons and actively takes out his phone and asks the driving instructor to hold the wheel. >> ten and two, ten and two. >> this is not a nightclub. >> i'm just being extremely difficult. i keep picking up my phone and  talking on my phone. >> john, john, john. >> he's clapping, i don't know. it's me trying to cause as much trouble as possible basically. >> did he just decide to film  his driving lessons or is there more to the video than that? >> you want to believe this has happened. at the end, i don't know. >> get out of the car, i'm driving. >> more "caught on camera --  viral videos, real or fake" whe we come back. ♪   ♪ [ male announcer ] at nissan, our ideal is innovation. 5 all-new models over the next 15 months, including a completely reimagined altima. welcome to our most innovative year ever.

nissan. innovation for all. ♪

i think we should see other people. in fact, i'm already seeing your best friend, justin. ♪ i would've appreciated a proactive update on the status of our relationship. who do you think i am, tim? quicken loans? at quicken loans, we provide you with proactive updates on the status of your home loan. and our innovative online tools ensure that you're always in the loop. one more way quicken loans is engineered to amaze.

immilissa reberger. the 12 secret service investigations in the colombian prostitution scandal stayed at the president's hotel. the incident happened earlier in the week before the his arrived.

after four days of searching, the nypd says no human remains have been found in the basement of the building in connections with the etan patz investigation. but forensic experts found some additional evidence. now back to "caught on camera.  welcome back to "caught on camera." i'm contessa brewer. now, here's a young man who infuriates a series of driving instructors. he gets behind the wheel of his car and then takes call after call on his cell phone. but is it real or is it fake? let's watch and find out. >> driving is very easy, just relax drive, okay? >> this viral video hit the internet in 2008. >> watch for the pedestrian in front of you. >> shouldn't hit that guy, right? >> no. >> just how frustrated can a driving instructor get? we're about to see. [ ringing ] >> hello. >> no, don't talk on telephone. sorry about -- >> marty, what's up? >> hang up. hang up on the phone.

>> hey, just stop snapping. grandma, yeah, it's me. >> ten and two, ten and two with the hands. >> can you hold that for me? >> uh-huh. >> john, john, john. >> he's clapping, i don't know. >> thank you, thank you. >> oh, my god. >> just hang up the [ bleep ] phone. >> seeing the genuine reaction of the instructors that struck a chord with everybody. you're watching this going, i can't believe this kid had the -- to do this. i can't believe he pulled it off and i can't believe these people didn't just slap him silly. >> but the ever cynical online viewing audience had its doubts. >> ten and two, ten and two, ten and two. >> this is not a nightclub. >> please turn it off. >> i couldn't tell about this one, if it was real or fake. i had a few things that made me skeptical of it. one, you can see a lot of different camera angles, especially when he first gets in the car. i counted four different camera angles. it's a pretty elaborate setup for a high school kid. >> was the video for real? now, this is a two-part question. first, is the kid playing a

prank or is this a genuine situation caught on camera? second, if it is a prank, are the instructors in on it or are tease real reactions? well, yes and no. but mostly no. >> this one had me fooled, 110%. >> while most of the driving teachers were actual instructors, two were actors. in both cases, the videos were unscripted, depending on the improv skills of the student, an actor named johnny pemberton. >> no, go right. keep your hands on the wheel. this is totally dangerous. >> just chill out. i'm not talking to you. you don't need to chill out. people ask is it real or fake? i always say it's both. at one point where do you draw the line. what is real and fake? >> sir, may i have your attention? >> you don't like me, john. >> [ bleep ] it. [ bleep ] it. >> pull over. >> i kept talking like a friend of mine, like some beach bum dude named kenny. just describing everything in the world to him talking about like the house or just kind

of -- just stupid stuff. talked with my grandma a couple of times so i had to yell really loud. grandma, hey. >> we're probably going to have to go back. >> no, i'm driving. >> pull over here. >> i'm just being really arrogant, a little son of a [ bleep ] in the car. the hardest thing for me was actually riling the guys up. >> keep your [ bleep ] hands on the driving wheel. >> driving wheel, like steering wheel? i had to hit garbage cans. even then, it took them a while to get angry about stuff. >> we all like to see other people getting tormented. in this case, the emotional reaction of the driving instructors were extraordinarily genuine. they were angry, they were scared. they were in shock and disbelief. >> i swear to god it's the house from "wayne's world." i'm going to turn around. >> no. straight. >> internet fame has often been the main reason for posting these videos, but there was another reason behind this one. advertising. >> can i have my phone back? >> no. >> it turns out this was really a campaign for a wireless headset provider. but most people don't know that.

that's the best part. most people just watch it, they think it's an amazing video, they share it with somebody. >> as you know from first of july you're not allowed to talk on the cell phone. >> it's ridiculous. >> parrot is the world's largest manufacturer of hand-free car kits. we wanted to show how complicated and inconvenient and sometimes even dangerous it becomes to be talking on the phone while you're trying to concentrate and do something else. >> parrot communications and ground zero advertising bet on viral video to drive their point home. but what makes the video so believable is there's an element of reality to it. >> pull over! get out of the car. i'm driving. >> hold on, hold on, hold on. >> get out of the car. >> we showed the problem by going out and secretly signing up a bunch of driving instructors. they showed up. they were unaware that our student driver was actually a plant. and as he was taking his driving course, he would continue to answer fake phone calls

throughout. and we had cameras hidden in the air freshener. we had another camera hidden in the glove box and so forth. and so while he'd take his phone calls, the driving instructors would get more and more infuriated. >> would you type in her number. >> no, phone over. >> i deleted her number. >> keep your [ bleep ] hands on the driving wheel. >> for parrot, it was a home run because it allowed them to get the message out to a ton of people for not a lot of money. >> our sales were up three times in california over where we were before we started. >> the online hits kept coming and buzz on the video grew. >> i think it was a million clicks in the first week. >> we're probably going to have to go back. >> no, i'm driving. >> just pull over here. >> pizza. can we have pizza. you want to get pizza now? it's kind of early. >> i think we're just going to chill. >> it was just tremendously funny. that's what drove the viral success of this campaign. people were sending it around to others saying you've got to see this. and that's the best thing you can hope for. >> curious about the driving instructors? want to know who was real and who was fake? okay.

here you go. these two are the actors. but did it really matter? the video was flat-out funny and became an instant classic. >> part of the balance is figuring out what makes something believable and emotional and not over the top. and that's a very hard chord to strike whether you're a teenage kid, a mother or a marketer. it's a real struggle for people, because everyone instantly tries to find the big bang, the thing that really sparks a chord. but oftentimes that big bang thing is much more subtle than people realize. >> better to be part of something good that not many see than something crappy that's all over the place. so i think this -- they just did it right and it worked out well with this video that it was very funny and people liked it. >> you got to hang up the phone. we're done! we're done! [ bleep ] it! [ bleep ] it! our next video starts out somewhat ominously. we find ourselves in a university lecture hall. >> as a viewer, you start the

video. why are we watching the video of a class? did someone fall down the stairs? that's the typical classroom viral video. ♪ comes to class every day it seems we all fall asleep, we v lost our dreams ♪ >> when he starts to sing, you  quickly realize this is  something different, you haven' seen it before. >> i love videos like this. >> he goes through the entire musical number. he doesn't care that no one is  into it at first. he keeps going and going,  running around the classroom  engaging with the audience not necessarily engaging with him back. it's really a special and uniqu thing. ♪ but all we need is just one chance ♪ >> but was it a real class  complete with a surprise  professor and student body or  was the whole thing staged? >> you want to believe it  because it's funny and  hilarious. wow, that kid has got some -- t get up there and sing. >> was it fake, was it not fake there was a lot of confusion  with people who saw the video a to whether they thought it was real or fake. >> find out when "caught on  camera -- viral videos real or

fake" comes back.  on my car insurance with progressive, i'm out here, giving a little tax relief. are you guys touring? we are. we're going to need some savings. oh, you certainly will. [ laughs ] forget tax season -- it's saving season. what do you do for a living, sir? i work at a green grocery. there's a little green for your grocery. thank you. absolutely. and as part of my saving stimulus package from progressive -- this can go in my wallet. that can go in your wallet. 30 bucks. whoo!

in a columbia university lecture hall, professor james valentini begins his chemistry lecture when mike barry breaks out into song. ♪ll ouró9=9çç♪ >> and it's all caught on camera. ♪ but when did we become this way, so disillusioned, so blase ♪ ♪ i can make the calculation >> a lot of people liked that  video because we all want that to happen. disrupting the ordinary day. people love musicals and hate math and science. everybody wants to see that 

happen in the lecture. but, again, i have terrible skepticism. i'm a bitter, bitter person who watches this and says where's  the lap mike. why is there so many cameras. why is the sound quality so good in this lecture hall? ♪ you must think we only party  and drink beer ♪ >> the professor i thought woul step in at some point. >> could a couple of students  hold up a huge class right  before the final without anyone stopping them? many believe the professor and  the students were in on it. but others say the reactions  seem too genuine. ♪ reach, teach  >> so was the video real or was it fake?oooooo >> people have asked us the  question who knew what? and the answer is that except  for the people involved in the actual prank, the camera people

the director, the choreographer and the people who performed in it, nobody knew what was going.w >> it was really a setup, it  would be a big production, not  four kids totally disrupting a class. it's a great idea. all that stuff is just great  ideas. ♪ but all we need is just one  chance ♪ ♪ to be treated as your equals and to dance ♪ >> the idea came out of an  improv group barry was part of  called prangstgrup which posted the video in 2005. >> prangstgrup was a bunch of students at columbia university and our main mission was really to perform sketch comedy in  public for what i guess we woul call a captive audience. ♪ they risk their professions  for the chance ♪;w;w ♪ to be inspirations to kids  like me ♪s>ñv ♪ they teach  >> the idea was about creating  performance and putting it up i front of people who weren't  expecting the performance where they were.

it's very funny to have somebod stand up in the middle of a ver normal situation and start  singing. ♪ and to dance  >> i love, love, love that idea. i always felt that it would be  fun to do, but that i could never do it with a straight face. ♪ to change our lives and reach teach ♪ >> it's very original and it's  little subversive. you've got that element of, oh, i've never seen that before. so i love this. i like musicals.ooo >> as simple as it may look,  breaking out into song in class took a fair amount of planning. mike and his band of pranksters picked the largest lecture hall they could find, which turned  out to be a chemistry class. >> the night before we sort of  set up how we would go about it so the day of the prank, we  walked into the classroom like  we were just students in that class. and i was miked.

there was a boom box all set up one cameraman was stationed  outside. the class began and my cue was to stand up and scream, hey  teach, i've got a question. i don't think i can describe to you accurately just how scared i was.y because i was afraid someone was going to stop me.yyqqqyy i was interrupting a class.÷÷ i thought the teacher would run up and shut me up or somebody  would get in my way or something would happen that would stop th prank right in the middle and  that would be the end of it. so i was scared to death. >> and what about the teach? what did he think? >> i had no idea this was going to happen. i was stunned. it was so well done, so well  produced and choreographed, the singing, everything was so  professional it was as if  gilbert and sullivan met vh1 an appeared in my class. >> while the members of  prangstgrup have graduated and  moved on, their work lives 

forever on the web.o? there's little argument in this columbia university lecture hal they captured a little piece of viral video magic. >> for video to be successful,  it needs to be first of all creative, second of all well executed and, three, really  needs to strike this emotional x chord. and that emotional chord is probably the most critical because, again, you're encouraging someone to actively share something, tell friends and other family you have to watch this video. >> hey, teach, i've got a question. >> you have this video where people plan for months. they go to a classroom and they jump up and sing and dance. that's just never been seen before. it's unique and it's well planned and it's amazingly executed. depending on your point of view, our next video features either a secret fantasy or secret fear of office workers worldwide. >> we all have someone in our office who think could be that guy. this is a video of that guy going mad in the office. 

♪ >> tina from accounting is down. this one definitely had me. >> immediately, i thought it was fake, because a lot of these are fake. the thing that made me think that it was real is this chick right here. she caught what looked like a monitor in the head. and i was like, if this was not real, they would have been, like, all right, stop. >> everyone wants to believe this is true because everybody hates their boss and everybody hates that printer. everybody hates tina from accounting. those damn halogen lamps. >> yeah. i was like, wow, this guy is really pissed. that guy's 401(k) did not look you the same this morning as it did yesterday. >> find out if it's real or fake when "caught on camera" returns. i rip away the styling. strip away the rearview monitors, tv screens, bluetooth... and even the cup holders. you know what's left? the only suv's

with american-built f-alpha truck frames. the ruggedly capable pathfinder, xterra, armada. ♪ receive up to twenty-five hundred dollars cash back on select nissan suv's. ♪

the teacher that comes to mind for me is my high school math teacher, dr. gilmore. i mean he could teach. he was there for us, even if we needed him in college. you could call him, you had his phone number. he was just focused on making sure we were gonna be successful. he would never give up on any of us.

a cubicle worker cracks and destroys his office.

it's unbelievable yet so believable. the video became a hit. but did it really happen? is it real or fake? the video is fake. and it even fooled the experts. >> it fooled all of us. even those of us who have within in the business watched almost every video around. we don't know. we watched it and said it could be real. might be real. turns out i don't care. >> i was totally suckered in retrospect. you need to unplug a monitor. that just doesn't come popping out. >> the office raid video was the brainchild of director timur bekmambetov looking for a new way to promote his movie "wanted." >> we know that the audience, our audience, our target audience is teenagers. we understood that the place where we can find them is the internet. what they like and we like, it's a viral video.

>> the video plays off a scene in the movie where a young office worker smashes a colleague over the head with his keyboard. >> what if we extend it. what if we make it as a viral video of action spot. i didn't expect that it would be so popular. in my mind, it's like 500,000 people, it's great. >> in fact, the secret advertisement got nearly 4 million views in the first week it was posted. for bekmambetov viral videos were a natural marketing choice. >> i really like it. it's very organic. it's the future. you don't have to pay to distribute. >> and as for people wondering whether it was real or fake, he says that's exactly what he wanted. >> they think, oh, no, maybe it's made up. no, it's real. >> the success of the viral video caught the director by surprise. he's keen to try it again. after all, "wanted" grossed more

than $340 million worldwide. >> maybe there's a better way how to do this and next time we will use new techniques, but it was entertaining. it was an event, entertaining and something to talk about. >> next, from office rage to primal love. the video that melted the hearts of nearly everyone who watched it. >> unless you're, you know, a guy who stabs people you can't really help but get choked up. >> two people adopt a baby cub lion, they raise it for a year, essentially let it run around a church. then when it became an adult  lion, they let it go out in the wild. >> it kind of gets you in the  beginning with two hippies playing with a lion. who plays with a lion? that's awesome. >> every child's dream right  there, pet lion, right? >> this gets us into the  phenomenon of how popular cats are online.

cats? >> the critical point in this story line comes when the two men go to africa to seek out th lion a year later. for a moment, the lion eyes the two humans. he rushes toward them. >> it's the sweetest story in  the world, right? they're just like, let's see if he doesn't maul us. i mean, literally that's the  question they ask themselves. that's beyond viral video. that's a real powerful story, you know? >> that's pretty fascinating to watch. it makes you nervous they're  going to get their faces ripped off because we've seen those  videos. but it kind of also makes you  want to do that, hug that lion. >> this video almost overnight, if you think about a 30-year  you think of a  overnight, national on the. and it's because you see that moment of the lion running towards these people and recognizing them as his parents. it's impossible not to have some strong emotional attachment and resignation with that. and so the first thing you would do is forward it along. >> the video was a phenomenon and a particular favorite of at

least one morning show. >> and now to a new clip that i all the rage on the internet. it's amusing and may make you laugh. but it's also uplifting. >> we've all seen this video 10 times but we still love it. >> i'm crying. >> you're crying. which is disturbing. >> the video is touching, heart felt and so, so sweet. which, of course, led some people to believe that was a big fat fake. >> there's always a question if something is for real. >> there are naysayers who claim it's a fake or they think it's  fake. i don't think so. it looks real to me. >> the story is a pretty  unbelievable story. the fact that i hadn't heard of this before, made me think, oh, wait, how did they fake this. is that a person in a lion suit >> the story was so captivating did it matter if it wasn't real >> it's entirely possible that  lion wasn't real. it's entirely possible the whol thing was staged. but the way the story was  created and the way it played  out and the way the online 

portion was distributed, you ca only think this is really  something different and special >> if it's fake, i think i might go shoot somebody. how could you be so cruel to  make that up? that's what i would say. i'm hoping it's real. let's put it that way. >> well, no need to worry. the video is real. but the true adventure of  christian the lion was first  told in a documentary that became the source of the viral  video footage. the unlikely love story started in swinging london in 1969 when our two heroes, john rendal and ace burke went shopping at  harrah's department store and  bought a lion. >> so ace and i saw these two  lions. a lioness and the cub that we  subsequently called christian. and he was totally, totally  irresistible. it was really a shock to see  these beautiful creatures in 

such a tiny cage. >> we half wanted to rescue him from this situation, and we hal thought it would be an adventure. >> anyone could see that he  really loved us, we really love him. we were part of his pride. >> eventually the lion became  too big so john and ace took  christian to africa and turned  him over to a conservationist í george adamson who would releas him back into the wild.óó about a year later, john and ace went back to africa to look for christian and found that the  magic was still there. >> he comes closer and closer  and closer. and then you can just see that  click of recognition. so we called him and that's whe he took off. >> and he ran towards us with such excitement. the exuberance of it is what  surprised everyone. the euphoria of that moment. in fact, we were all caught up  in it. there was the most beautiful sort of connection between  humans and animals. >> the moment we saw him, we 

knew there was no reason to be  frightened at all. >> it predated the viral medium by nearly 40 years, but this love story transcended time and species and continues to strike everyone who sees it. >> it has been quite extraordinary, the youtube phenomena. i suppose it's a story that  still resonates and there's no  reason why it should date. >> it's incredibly honest. you can't fake that. you can't fake the love that he has for us. well, they say you can't  fool all of the people all of  the time, but chances are, at  least one of the videos you jus watched fooled you. don't worry, you're not alone. if you have a video you would like to send to us, you can do so at caughtoncamera.msnbc.com. i'm contessa brewer