>> from the startling -- >> if i did that i would be arrested or shot and then arrested. >> -- to the silly. >> you're like, wow, my kid's got some -- to get up there. >> -- to the sublime. their viral videos, short moments, caught on camera that we can't stop watching. and like a virus, pass it along. >> first thank you do is send it to ten of your friends. >> people flood the internet with videos hoping they will go viral. >> everybody is making videos now. >> i can put my kid on there and get a million views and be on david letterman? >> you're competing with a guy that put a cat down his pants. >> why do people love cats so much.

>> the videos can be riveting but can you believe everything you see? >> if it's fake i get angry. >> 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 youtube, embedded in blogs. you've watched them and maybe even forwarded on one or two to somebody else. the videos you're about to see were all popular. some are funny and some are poignant and all amazing clips but they may have left you wondering, are they real or are they fake?

wait, did someone just spray paint graffiti on air force one? >> 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. >> wait a minute. are they doing something to air force one? 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. quickly it 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? 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 went 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 and then arrested. >> i think what we were trying to accomplish was a pop culture moment. >> mark ecko, a designer and 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 a game. and to author something that was culturally relevant. >> in the "the game" the main character uses graffiti to protest a corrupt and totalitarian authority marking his createive team brainstormed for a stunt that would bring attention to the game. >> the symbol of air force one was so loaded and the absurdity of mean being able to hop a fence with a spray can is so absurd, we thought, we got to do this. we got to figure this one out. >> ecko teamed up with advertising agency and creative shop to make it happen. >> the first thing was, we got to run a 747. >> they found a plane -- >> oh, my goodness. >> -- and painted it to look like air force one.

>> we want it to look as authentic as possible because that's what's going to get people to raise their eyebrows and say, really? is this real? the layout of the fence and where the plane would be in relation to the fence was very, very authentic. the hangar sign nearby and the signs that say "andrews air force base" they were the real signs. very authentic. >> while in theory they were not doing anything illegal, the production was not without risk. >> you start to shoot and you pull out a 747 and it was like that whole moment, is this really happening? and all of the sudden helicopters start flying about. police showed up. there was no shortage of creative tension that night. if we had put this video out there and someone had panicked and stopped the presidential flight from happening we might have been in trouble. lucky that didn't happen. >> they manage to avoid a national security incident and created a video that got international attention.

it hit the internet in 2006 during the early wave of viral videos. a few years later, skepticism and competition have risen exponentially. >> the medium of viral video is still new, a perfect window of opportunity 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 the stunt, if you will. >> you're competing with a guy that put his cat down his pants and you have to be entertaining because the next video below you is going to be funny or cute or outrageous, so you must make an impression. >> the mark ecko video is so well executed and it look and felt like somebody was breaking in somewhere. and it caused you to have

that self-doubt, that emotional reaction of is this real or fake? so the first thing you do is you 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, traveling around the world, at every location he would basically dance a little jig. he edited these together and created a video of himself dancing jigs around the world. a well done and creative and unique 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 have gone to all these places, that the video was constructed with special effects and green screen technology. >> there are certain situations where i see a video. and i think, if that's fake, i get angry at people.

i'd be like, i can't believe you did that. i was emotionally invested in this thing because i thought this guy was actually there. >> could one guy really dance in all of these places? >> i would be ticked. i would 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 a green screen -- when we come back. at&t introduces the rugged galaxy s5 active. stands up to most everything. within reason. yup fine thats cool eww, um, no sure yes get it for zero down from at&t

what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted! what's your most favorite of all? hmm...the kind i have with you. me too.

in 2005 a video game designer 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 and different countries. sweden, south korea is watching the video. late in 2005 it had this really big spike and suddenly i was getting calls 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. but 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 dance. i started out working as a video game designer. so in 2000 3i quit my job and took the money i had saved up to

go around the world. i spent about six months traveling to 17 different countries. a few months into that trip i was traveling with a friend we were in vietnam taking pictures. >> i said, you should do the stupid dancing dude on camera. >> we shot it and i liked the way it looked and decided to do it everywhere i went on this trip around the world and i put the clips together thinking it would be a nice moment to my friends and a nice memento for me to have of my trip. and people started passing it around. >> where can he go will somebody will not ask him to do that dance? >> when the dancing matt video came about, there weren't a lot of people going around filming themselves, and there were not a lot of people editing them together and, three, stringing them together in one specific video and, four, actively wanting share it. matt came about at a time when people didn't know you could do this and people weren't actually

trying to achieve fame they were doing it for fun and to share with their friends and family. today would that video be successful? hard to know. >> by the end of this one it's so like, inspirational about the world and coming together as a people. and, like, you know what i 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 market in 2006 and they called me up and said, they asked if i would be interested in making another video with their help. and so in 2006, i spent six months traveling to 39 countries on all seven continents to make the second dancing video with them. >> he got stride gum to fund his next trip which is, i mean, i think that's the goal for any viral video is get somebody to pay you to make the next one. >> when people started achieving real fame through the internet marketers suddenly started paying attention.

increasingly, we're seeing more and more brands reaching out to people who have achieved a dedicated online following and create their brands with them or have them create content on their behalf. and 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 and this time he called in reinforcements. >> my favorite clip was in rwanda where i danced with a bunch of kids in the village. i thought this is so much 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 come dance in my country? 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's movie star fame, rock star fame and even, reality show fame. but this was different. >> we came up with this term "eleverty." which really represents somebody who came of fame through the internet. >> with corporate sponsorship

and e-lebri it ty. >> i make videos in which i dance badly for a living. i'm working on a book about making a video. 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 because the last five years, i've not spent a lot of time here in seattle. >> but the fame and fortune came from traveling the world. 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 some day 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.

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 pretty interesting to see somebody spray painting hair on their head. kind of a good look. a little non-pc racial humor. definitely popular what you love it or hate it. funny idea. i like the concept a lot. i was instantly skeptical because i was like, you can fake that completely and there is zero footage of them in the actual dmv. >> how do they let them redo their licenses that often. >> the individual video took off, creating millions of hits and attracting media attention. >> these filmmakerless took artistic license when they got their driver's licenses. >> in post 9/11 america, could anyone get away with this? find out, can it really happened when "caught on camera:viral videos real or fake" returns.

[ male announcer ] it's one of the most amazing things we build and it doesn't even fly. we build it in classrooms and exhibit halls, mentoring tomorrow's innovators. we build it raising roofs, preserving habitats and serving america's veterans. every day, thousands of boeing volunteers help make their communities the best they can be. building something better for all of us. ♪ ♪ how can a tablet replace your laptop?

start with the best writing experience. make it incredibly thin. add an adjustable kickstand, a keyboard a usb port and the freedom of touch. and, of course, make it run microsoft office with the power and speed to do real work. introducing surface pro 3. the tablet that can replace your laptop. i spent my entire childhood seeing the world in reverse, and i loved every minute of it. but then you grow up and there's no going back. but it's okay, it's just a new kind of adventure. and really, who wants to look backwards when you can look forward? marge: you know, there's a more enjoyable

way to get your fiber. try phillips fiber good gummies. they're delicious, and an excellent source of fiber to help support regularity. wife: mmmm husband: these are good! marge: the tasty side of fiber. from phillips. ♪ 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 jacks. dressing up ridiculously and getting their photos taken for a driver's license in virginia. great concept. it's kind of subversive but really stupid and silly and a smart and dumb idea. pictures are pretty funny and spray painting hair on somebody's head is also pretty funny. the brows are great. >> they were like, were not you just in here? >> i'm not going to be able 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. actually i didn't believe this much at all and 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 get 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, the 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. we're 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. >> i like to they have of myself

as a canvas. in a 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 hightop sneaker on one hand and dave wrapped his in tinfoil and wanted eyeballs on his eyelids. >> the idea came in a dream. cosmos is aligned and now we're huge hollywood movie stars. >> we're 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 interview they were giving us real or fake? 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 story. >> i decided to randomly to go to the dmv and try to get a funny picture and i got away with crossing my eyes and looking ridiculous. from there it escalated and dave went a couple of times and we just kind of tried to top each other's driver's licenses. >> this one, this will be the one that definitely will not work. >> dave got away with painting the top of his head black and wearing fake buck teeth. that surprised us a lot. it was hilarious but at the same time it was kind of scary. the only thing i could think of to top it was to paint my face red. for some weird reason i think people are going to be looking at me kind of strange. we were definitely surprised, every time when we walked out, we were completely in shock and before we went in, we always say, definitely not going to be able to get away with this one and every time we were more and more surprised.

>> they were not buying at all. and finally i was up at the booth talking to the guy for like 20 minutes and he kept stalling and going to the back and everyone was looking at me. >> it was especially a surprise to the richmond dmv which became away of the stunt after it was featured in the local paper and they were less than pleased and demanded the licenses back. will and dave claim they've lost them. the virginia dmv says it has updated its policy and will deny a license or i.d. card to anyone who appears in disguise. >> when these videos came out the first reaction is, these guys are awesome. how did they come up with this idea? why do they think they can get away with this? 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 like, really? the dmv is that lax about letting that stuff go with the way security works in this country?

>> will and dave say they meant no harm, and maybe even did some good. >> it was a joke, it escalated to a matter of national security. did we expect that? no. but i think it is a good idea that it did. it's good that people know someone could get a license that easy. >> call them filmmakers or pranksters. >> 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 momentny anyway captured people's attention but has that changed them? you decide. >> everybody wants to be our friend. our inner circle is glowing. all that matters in life is you're either famous or 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 lessons and essentially torments the instructor by being the worst possible driver.

this driving student takes call after call on his cell phone ignoring and infuriating his driving instructors. >> hang up the [ muted ] phone. >> that kid is hysterical. he's 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. >> 10 and 2. >> this is night a nightclub. >> i'm being extremely difficult. i keep picking up the phone and talking on the phone. >> he's clapping. >> it's just 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 is happening. at the end though. >> get out of the car. i'm driving. >> more "caught on camera:viral videos real or fake" when we come back. etition, but we're not in the business of naming names. the fact is, it comes standard with an engine that's been called the benchmark of its class. really, guys, i thought...

it also has more rear legroom than other midsize sedans. and the volkswagen passat has a lower starting price than... much better. vo: hurry in and lease the 2014 passat s for $199 a month. visit vwdealer.com today. when folks think about what they get from alaska, they think salmon and energy. but the energy bp produces up here creates something else as well: jobs all over america. engineering and innovation jobs. advanced safety systems & technology. shipping and manufacturing. across the united states bp supports more than a quarter million jobs. when we set up operation in one part of the country people in other parts go to work. that's not a coincidence. it's one more part of our commitment to america.

[ mom ] hi, we're the pearsons and we love chex cereal. so we made our own commercial to tell you why. chex makes seven gluten free flavors. like cinnamon, honey nut and chocolate. when you find something this good, you want to spread the word. [ all ] we love chex! i'm melissa rehberger. here's what's happening.

iraqi militants hit north of baghdad today. the government is trying to slow the advance of the militants who took over two more key towns today. the army says sergeant boeing bergdahl's status is outpatient. bergdahl was held by the taliban in afghanistan for nearly five years. back to "caught on camera." welcome back to "caught on camera" i'm contessa brewer. 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 and 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. [ cell phone ringing ] >> hello. >> no, no talking on the telephone. >> what's up? >> hang up the phone. >> hey, just stop snapping. >> grandma! yeah, it's me. >> 10 and 2 with the hands. >> he's clapping -- >> no, no, no. >> oh, my god. >> hang up the god [ bleep ] phone. >> it seemed a genuine reaction of the instructors that struck a chord with everybody. you're watching this going, i can't believe this kid had the [ muted ] to do this i can't believe he pulled it off, and i can't believe these people just didn't slap him silly. >> but the ever-cynical online viewing audience had their doubts. >> 10 and 2. >> this is not a nightclub. >> i couldn't tell about this one if it was real or fake. i had a few things that made me skeptical. one, you can see a lot of different camera angles.

especially when he first gets in the car. in the car i counted four different ages and that's a pretty elaborate setup for a high school kid. >> was the video for real? 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 these real reactions? 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 improve skills of the student. an actor named johnny pem of berton. >> go right. keep your hands on the wheel. this is totally dangerous. >> people ask is it real or fake and i say, it's both. i mean at what point do you draw the line between what is real and what is fake? >> may i have your attention?

>> pull over! >> i kept talking like a friend of mine, like some beach bum dude named kenny and describing everything in the world to him and talking about the house or kind of stupid stuff. i was talking with my grandma a couple of times and he yelled really loud. >> we're probably going to have to go back. >> no, i'm driving. >> just pull over here. >> i'm just being a little arrogant son of a [ bleep ] in the car. the hardest thing for me was actually rounding the guys up. >> keep your [ muted ] hands on the driving wheel. >> you mean like steering wheel. >> i would hit garbage cans and stuff and even then it took them a while to get angry. >> we all like to see other people getting tormented and laugh at other people's misfortunes. in this case the emotional reactions of the driving instructors were extraordinarily genuine. they were angry. they were scared. they were in shock and disbelief. >> i square 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 motive behind this one. advertising. >> can i have my phone back? >> no. >> it turns out the series of videos was a campaign for a wireless headset provider. most people don't know that. that's the best part. most people watch it and think it's amazing and share it with somebody. >> as you know from the first of july, you're not allowed to talk on the cell phone. >> i can't talk on the phone in the car. ridiculous. >> parrot is the worlds largest manufacturer of hands-free car kits and 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 probably going out and secretly signing up a bunch of driving instructors. they showed up and 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. another camera hidden in the glove box and so forth. so while he'd take his phone calls the driving instructors would get more and more infuriated. >> will you type in her number? >> no. phone, over. >> keep your [ muted ] hands on the driving while. >> for parrot this was a home run because it allowed them to get a message out to a lot of people and impact the way for a not a ton 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. just pull over here. >> no, i'm driving. you want to get pizza? >> no, we're going to chill. >> it was just tremendously funny. and that's what drove the viral success of this campaign. people were sending around to

others saying, you've got to see this. that's the best thing you can hope for. >> curious about the driving instructors? want to know who was real and who was fake? here you go. these two are the actors. but did it really matter? the video was flat-out funny and it became an instant classic. >> part of the balance is figuring out whether to make something believable and emotional and not over the top. and that's a very hard core to strike and 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. >> if you want to be a part of something good that people see than having something that's crappy all over the place. so i think they just did it right and it worked out well with this video that it was really funny and people liked it. >> you gotta hang up the phone.

we're done! we're done! gets. get. our next video starts out somewhat ominously. we find ourselves in a university lecture hall. >> as a viewer we're like why are we watching a video of a class? that's the typical viral video. you come to class and it seems we all sleep and lost our laundry ♪ >> when he gets up singing you realize this is something different. you haven't seen it before. he goes through the entire musical number. he doesn't care that no one is into it at first he just keeps going and going, running around the classroom and engaging with the audience that's not necessarily engaging him back. it's really a special and unique thing. ♪ but all we need is just one chance ♪ >> was it a real class, complete with a is your professor and student body or was the whole thing staged? >> you want to belief it because it's funny and hilarious and you're like, that kid has some [ muted ] to get up there and

saying -- >> was it fake? was it not fake? >> there was a lot of confusion with people who saw the video as to whether they thought it was real or fake. >> find out when "caught on camera:rival videos real or fake" comes back. nobody ever stomped their foot and asked for less. because what we all really want... ...is more. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet. and not a "have just a little buffet". that's the idea behind the more everything plan. it's more of everything you want. for less.

plus, get the droid maxx by motorola for 0 down. get more with our best plans on the best network. for best results use verizon. if i can impart one lesson to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. if there was a pill to help protect your eye health as you age... would you take it? well, there is. [ male announcer ] it's called ocuvite. a vitamin totally dedicated to your eyes, from the eye care experts at bausch + lomb. as you age eyes can lose vital nutrients. ocuvite helps replenish key eye nutrients. ocuvite has a unique

formula not found in your multivitamin to help protect your eye health. now that's a pill worth taking. [ male announcer ] ocuvite. help protect your eye health. peace of mind is important when you're running a successful business. so we provide it services you can rely on. with centurylink as your trusted it partner you'll experience reliable uptime for the network and services you depend on. multi-layered security solutions keep your information safe, and secure. and responsive dedicated support meets your needs, and eases your mind. centurylink. your link to what's next. thank you daddy for defending our country. thank you for your sacrifice and thank you for your bravery. thank you colonel. thank you daddy. military families are uniquely thankful for many things the legacy of usaa auto insurance can be one of them. if you're a current or former military member or their family,

get an auto insurance quote and see why 92% of our members plan to stay for life. in a columbia university lecture hall, professor james ballentini begins his chemistry lecture and it's the last class before the final. when -- >> hey, teach, i've got a question. >> mike berry breaks out into song. ♪ you come to class every day and we all fall asleep and we lost all our dreams ♪ >> and it's all caught on camera. ♪ when did we become this way, some disillusioned, so blase ♪

♪ i can make the calculation ♪ >> a lot of people liked that video because we all want that to happen. it's disrupting the ordinary day and people love musicals and hate math and science. everybody wants to see that happen in their lecture but, again, i have terrible skepticism. i'm a bitter, bitter person who watches this and it's like, where is the laugh mic? where is the sound coming from? why is the sound quality so good in this lecture hall? the professor i thought would maybe step in at some point. >> could a couple of students really hold up a huge class right before the final without anyone stopping them? many believed the professor and the students were in on it. but others say the reactions seemed too genuine. ♪ reach, teach ♪ >> was the video real or fake? >> people have asked us the

question, who knew what? and the answer is, except for the people involved in the actual prank, the camera people, the director, the choreographer and the people that performed in it nobody knew. >> if it was really a set-up it would be full big production not just four kids totally disrupting a class. it was a great idea. all that stuff is just great ideas. ♪ but all we need is just one chance ♪ ♪ to be treated as your equals as you dance motors ♪ >> the idea came out of an improv group called bronx troupe which posted the video in 2005. >> it was a bunch of students at columbia university and our main mission was, really, to perform sketch comedy in public for, i guess, we would call, a captive audience. ♪ we wish every row fegs for a chance to be inspirations to kids like me ♪

♪ hey, teach ♪ >> the idea was about creating a performance and putting it up in front of people who weren't expecting a performance where they were. it's very funny to have somebody stand up in the middle of a very normal situation and start singing. >> i love, love, love that idea. i always felt that it would be fun to do. but that i could never keep a straight face. ♪ ♪ to change our lives and reach, teach ♪ >> it's very original and it's a little subversive and you have that element of like, oh, i've never seen that before. so i love that. i like musicals. >> 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 in to the classroom like we were just students in that class. and i was mic'ed. there was a boom box all set up. one cameraman was stationed outside. the class began and my queue 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. i was afraid somebody was going to stop me. i was interrupting a class and 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 the prank right in the middle and that would be the end of it. so, i was scared to death. >> 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. choreographed, the singing.

everything, it was so professional. it was as if, you know, gilbert and sullivan met vh1 and appeared in my class. >> while the members of the group have since graduated and moved on their work lives forever on the web. and there's a little argument that in this columbia university lecture hall they captured a little piece of viral video magic. >> for video to be successful it needs to be, first of all, creative and second of all, well executed, and three, it really snooix needs to strike this emotional chord. and that emotional chord is probably the most critical because you are encouraging someone to actively share something and tell their friends and family you have to watch this video. ♪ hey teach, i've got a question ♪ >> you have the videos where people plan for months. they go to a classroom and they jump up and sing and dance. that's never been seen before. it's unique and well planned and amazingly executed. >> depending on your point of view, our next video features either this secret fantasy or secret fear of office workers worldwide.

>> we all have someone in our office who we 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. i knew it was fake. the thing that made me think it was real was this chick right here. she caught what looked like a monitor in the head. and i was like, if this was not real, it would have been like, stop. >> everyone wants to believe this is true because everybody hates their boss and everybody hates that printer. everybody hates tina from accounting. damn halogen lamps. >> yeah. i was like, wow, this guy is really pissed. i guess 401(k) did not look the same this morning as it did yesterday. firnd out ifnd out if it's real

or fake when "caught on camera" returns. don't just visit new york visit tripadvisor new york with millions of reviews tripadvisor makes any destination better. i'm m-a-r-y and i have copd. i'm j-e-f-f and i have copd. i'm l-i-s-a and i have copd, but i don't want my breathing problems to get in the way of hosting my book club. that's why i asked my doctor about b-r-e-o. once-daily breo ellipta helps increase airflow from the lungs for a full 24 hours. and breo helps reduce symptom flare-ups that last several days and require oral steroids, antibiotics, or hospital stay. breo is not for asthma. breo contains a type of medicine that increases risk of death in people with asthma. it is not known if

this risk is increased in copd. breo won't replace rescue inhalers for sudden copd symptoms and should not be used more than once a day. breo may increase your risk of pneumonia, thrush, osteoporosis, and some eye problems. tell your doctor if you have a heart condition or high blood pressure before taking breo. ask your doctor about b-r-e-o for copd. first prescription free at mybreo.com i spent my entire childhood seeing the world in reverse, and i loved every minute of it. but then you grow up and there's no going back. but it's okay, it's just a new kind of adventure. and really, who wants to look backwards when you can look forward?

a cubicle worker cracks and destroys his office. unbelievable, yet so believable. the video immediately became a hit, but did it really happen? was it real? or fake? the video is fake, and it even fooled the experts. >> fooled all of us. even those of us have been in the business and watch almost every video around. we don't know. we watch them and we say, yeah, could be real. might be real and you know what? turns out i don't care. >> i was totally suckered. in retrospect i can see things like the monitor. you need to unplug a monitor. that just doesn't come popping out. >> the office rage video was the brainchild of timur bekmambatov, a director who was looking for a new way to promote his movie "wanted." >> we know that the audience,

our target audience is teenagers. we understood that the place where we can find them it's on internet and what they like and what 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 will extend it what if we will make it as a viral video action spot? i didn't expect that it would be so popular. in my mind, if 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 him, the viral videos were a natural marketing choice. >> i really like them because it's very organic. it's the future because you don't have to pay for that. you didn't have to pay to distributing. >> as for people wondering if it's real or fake that's exactly what bekmambatov wanted.

>> they think, oh no, it's made up. no, it's real. >> the success of the viral video caught the director by surprise and he's keen to try it again. after all, "wanted" grossed more than $340 million worldwide. >> maybe there is a better way how to do this and next time we will use new techniques. but it's in any case 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 a guy who stabs people you can't really help but get choked up. >> two people adopted a baby cub lion, raised it for a year essentially letting it run around a church. when it became an adult lion, they brought it back to africa, let it go into the wild. >> they pull you in the beginning, you see two hippies playing with a lion. who plays with a lion? that's awesome. >> every child's dream right there, that lion. right?

>> this gets us into the phenomenon of how popular cats are online. >> why do people love cats so much? >> the critical point in this story line comes when the two men go to africa to seek out the lion a year later. for a moment, the lion eyes the two humans. he rushes toward them. >> it is the sweetest story in the world. right? they're like, let's see if he doesn't maul us. literally, that is the question they asked themselves. that's beyond viral video, that's just a powerful story. >> that's pretty fascinating to watch. it makes you nervous they're going to get their faces ripped off because we've probably all seen those videos. but it also kind of makes you want to do that. don't you want to hug that lion? >> this video almost overnight if you think about a 30-year time span as overnight became a national phenomenon once it went on the internet. 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 is all the rage on the internet, it's amusing and may make you laugh but it's also uplifting. >> we've all seen this maybe 100 times and i still love it. >> i'm crying. >> you're crying which is disturbing. >> the video is touching, heartfelt and so, so sweet, which, of course, led some people to believe this 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 think it's a fake. i don't think so. >> 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? were they using fake film and

stuff? >> 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 whole thing was staged, but the way the story was created, the way it played out and the way the online video portion of it was distributed you could only think, wow, this is really something different and special? >> if it's fake i would go shoot somebody. that would be -- how could you be so cruel to make that up is what i would say. i'm hoping it's real. let's put it that way. >> 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 rendall and ace burke went shopping at harrod's department store and bought a lion. >> so ace and i went up to the pet department there were two lions, little 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 half thought it would be an adventure. >> anyone could see that he really loved us, we really loved him. we were all part of his pride. >> the lion became too big so he was turned over to conservationist george adamson who would release him to the wild. 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 it's when 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 human and animals. >> the moment we saw him we knew there was no reason to be frightened at all. >> it predated the viral media by nearly 40 years, but this love story transcended time and species and continues to strike a chord with nearly 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 also 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 the time. but chances are, at least one of the videos you just watched fooled you. don't worry. you're not alone. if you have a video you'd like to send to us you can do so at

caughtoncamera.msnbc.com. i'm contessa brewer. that's it for this edition of "caught on camera." from the absurd to the embarrassing -- >> it really happened. i have all the wedding footage. do you want to see it? >> to the just plain shocking. >> this was one of the most disturbing viral videos i've seen. >> these viral videos capture our attention one way -- >> pretty horrifying visceral thing when you see that. >> or another. >> tires should not be able to go up just by nudging each other. >> i can't believe it. that's so incredible. >> almost instantly we want to forward them along. >> things like that people tend to want to share with other people. >> where's miss right wing?