In July 2009, Evian released a web film with almost no story: a crowd of babies on roller skates, dancing to the Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight”. There was no voiceover and no product pitch beyond the brand’s closing line. It was made for the internet first, not for TV.
It worked on an enormous scale. Guinness World Records certified it as the most viewed online advertisement ever, with 45,166,109 views as of November 9, 2009, just a few months after launch. Its total reach passed 100 million views, and a large share of those came from fan uploads on sites far outside Evian’s own YouTube channel.
Behind it was BETC Euro RSCG in Paris, with Rémi Babinet as creative director and Michael Gracey directing. The babies were computer-generated, but their tiny expressions were what people shared. Babinet had already made Evian’s “Water Babies” in 1998, so this was a return to a character the brand knew well, rebuilt for the YouTube era.
The film won a Pencil at D&AD in 2010, and Evian followed it with a sequel, “Baby & Me.” Its real legacy is the lesson it gave brands: a video does not need a message to spread. If it makes people smile fast, they will pass it on for you.
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