Sometimes the viral success of videos comes as a real surprise. Not necessarily because of their quality, but rather because of the enormous reach that other videos could not come close to achieving. The Hessischer Rundfunk, which has landed a viral hit with a carnival video from 2021 that is causing a furor, especially in Southeast Asia, is currently enjoying such unexpected success. With 87 million views so far, Peter Shub's performance from the carnival show "Rosa Wölkchen" is by far the most viewed hr video on Facebook. For ARD, it is the most successful video of the past year.
But what makes the clip so special? The video features Peter Shub in his role as a clown, which the New Yorker has also played in Circus Roncalli. The 64-year-old shows during his performance his pantomimic talent: He hangs himself on a hanger, conjures fingers and tongue visually away (and back again) or pulls his head back up when it threatens to disappear.
The video - 5 minutes and 27 seconds long in total - was first shared by a major foreign account shortly after it aired on TV in March 2021. Then, in the summer, there was no stopping the video being recommended - and 99 percent of the time, by Facebook itself. Those recommendations went to users in Southeast Asia. The video was then liked over 510,000 times, with a laugh or a heart. There were 19 million views in Indonesia alone and 1.85 million views in Pakistan. The video was probably clicked particularly often in Pakistan, since Peter Shub visually bears a strong resemblance to Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan.
The universal language of mime
Peter Shub is happy about the great success: "I am totally surprised! I always thought it would be wonderful to have a video go viral for once. It's hard to make a wide audience laugh - and then internationally. It must have touched a lot of people.
On Sunday, February 13. February, at 20:15 clock, the hr-fernsehen shows the contribution of Peter Shub from the program "Rosa Wölkchen" in a highlight cut under the title "Das Lustigste aus der hessischen Fastnacht 2021".
