Eight years after being acquired by Google, and with brands running rampant on the platform, YouTube has witnessed a real return to people behaving like people and being impressive while not trying to be. That’s exactly the category that Noah Ritter, who rose to prominence last month as the “Apparently” Kid, falls into. Sure, a 15-second pre-roll commercial precedes his time in the spotlight, but Ritter does his part to excellence.
The fact that it’s a local news person interviewing him, and not his parents, matters. Local newscasters have found a way in recent years to identify those among us who belong on camera, talking directly to us. Ritter’s awkward presence echoes what we’d expect from a 5-year-old excited to be on live television for the first time. You can’t plan that, or fake that.
In the days that followed his debut, while Ritter’s video exploded on social media, both ABC and NBC News ran features that demonstrated how average this kid really is, only increasing our affection for him. Then, late last week, Ritter was back in our hearts (and feeds), when he appeared on an episode of Ellen. His mannerisms, reactions, expressions, and jokes during that appearance convey that the brief glimpse we got at the county fair only scratched the surface. You can’t help but root for him and be happy he has extended his 15 minutes of fame.
Just weeks after Ritter emerged on the YouTube scene, another kid with a similar experience and reception came through. Ellen welcomed Trey and his mom on her show last week, as well, to talk about Trey’s “exasperating” response to the news that his mother was pregnant again. Shanee Hart said she decided to record it because she knew Trey would be upset, but she didn’t know what to expect. That’s the beauty behind, and inside, these videos of kids: because everything is so unpredictable, it’s an arena that hasn’t experienced a slowdown from a fickle and often fleeting Internet audience.
Ordinarily, viral sensations get their time on Ellen and Today, then settle back into their regular lives. For Ritter, however, Freshpet came knocking with an advertising opportunity, extending his public narrative for yet another day. The brand made the wise decision to do it basic; it allowed Ritter to sit in a chair and speak freely about pets, to wrestle with and perform his impression of dogs, and to revel in the limelight. The ad is simply a supercut of the best of what Ritter said and did during the shoot. The dog food and products company also released additional behind-the-scenes footage to give the audience even more to gawk at. Right now, we still can’t get enough.
What’s so striking about the ad isn’t that the Ritter family accepted the offer; it’s that the commercial wasn’t rejected by the masses as a selling out of sorts. Instead, it was wholeheartedly embraced. “Not bad for a first commercial,” wrote a Philly.com blogger. “But, then, the kid is a natural.”
