Edgar's fall

"Edgar's fall" "(La caida de Edgar)" is a video that was uploaded to YouTube in March 2006 from México. This internet meme has been one of the most popular videos in YouTube, with 9,033,413 viewings as of 29 June 2008.

History

The video features a young Mexican kid named Edgar and his cousin Fernando hiking in a ranch near their home town of Monterrey. The video starts with Edgar being afraid of trying to cross a small stream using two long branches as a bridge. Soon after Edgar starts crossing, Fernando starts moving one of the branches, making Edgar curse angrily with a funny Mexican "norteño" (northern) accent until he finally loses his balance, plunges into the stream and curses even more as he emerges from the water. [http://www.eluniversal.com.mx/notas/454113.html ¿Qué es lo que suben los mexicanos a YouTube?] ]

Impact on Mexico's popular media

"Edgar's fall" was the subject of much media exposure in México which included newspapers and the clip being shown on the TV news.

There are ringtones, games, parodies, remixes and even a web page where Edgar is proposed for Mexico's presidency. There are over 20 versions of the video including Star Wars, Mario Bros, Street Fighter, and Pokemon. Some publicity campaigns have made use of the video without worries of copyright issues, by example Nike's Joga Bonito campaign. Edgar has also gained other media exposure, appearing on TV shows and in newspapers. [http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2006/05/18/index.php?section=opinion&article=008o1pol ASTILLERO] ]

Edgar's Revenge

In 2007, Edgar, Fernando and the cameraman that participated in this video made a commercial called "La Venganza de Edgar" (Edgar's Revenge) for a Mexican cookie company, Gamesa. The commercial which has become a viral video parodies the situation seen in the original video but, instead of Edgar falling in the river, he screams "Guards!", and suddenly Roman soldiers appear, to the shock of Fernando about to make Edgar fall. Edgar orders the Roman guards to throw Fernando in the water, and despite Fernando's protests they do so. At Edgar's command, the cameraman is also dropped in the water by the Romans. [ [http://www.el-universal.com.mx/notas/407638.html Edgar, del video de YouTube a un comercial de galletas - El Universal - Espectáculos ] ] The video was made by Gamesa's ad agency in Mexico, Olabuenaga Chemistri and was aired for a short period of time.

This series of commercials advertises a brand of cookies called "Emperador" (Emperor); they show people acting like they were a Roman Emperor, calling their guards to turn things in their favor.

YouTube México

In 2007, YouTube launched the Mexican version of its website, with content oriented to Mexican audiences. During the launch, Edgar was present with Coyoacán Joe where he filmed a welcome video for YouTube México. [ [http://actualidad.terra.es/ciencia/articulo/youtube_mexico_lanza_version_portal_1922748.htm Youtube lanza versión de su portal exclusiva para México ] ]

Notes

External links

* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=b89CnP0Iq30&mode=related&search= Edgar's fall] - The original video
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=V0Y5sTchMYs&mode=related&search= Edgar's fall Star Wars] - Star Wars version
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=NE2vn7K5Z5E&mode=related&search= Edgar's Interview] - an interview with Edgar
* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=9aHIPHwDW0Y&mode=related&search= Edgar's fall in Hechos] "Edgar's fall" in the Mexican news
* [http://www.edgarsecae.com/ Unofficial webpage] - A web page with all the versions
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i14xsApleAg&mode=related&search= Edgar: The Emperor] - Edgar's revenge