The Digital Power of Analog Media

How MTV harnessed a million 15 minutes of fame.

As a writer, to have a major publication post your work to its website is one thing, but seeing it in print is the holy grail. A YouTube video might get a million views, but it gains a certain kind of cultural relevance when it’s broadcast on the evening news.

Whether it’s because it feels official, or just more special with the endorsement of a recognizable media brand, getting a piece of content onto the pages of a magazine, or a television, has a pretty strong cultural significance, for both the content and its creator. And in an age where so many people, particularly the young, are cooing for likes on Instagram and crossing their fingers for a retweet, the allure looms large to somehow set the stage for your 15 minutes of fame in a place that feels bigger than just the silly ol’ internet.

At MTV, we took advantage of this.

MTV Bump is a platform that takes your digital content and features it on live MTV in a “bump,” i.e. those fun, super short video clips that MTV has traditionally aired during commercial breaks. The centerpiece of the channel’s 2015 European rebrand, where the audience is almost exclusively under the age of 25, we encouraged fun, Snapchat-style submissions, to really communicate that this is your 15 minutes of fame. All you had to do was simply tag any of your Instagram or Twitter videos with #mtvbump, and that piece of content was automatically submitted for review; if approved, you’d be directed to mtvbump.com to accept terms, and that’s it! You’re on TV!

”MTV’s rebranding is messy, distracting, and possibly perfect for post-millennials.” — Forbes

At mtvbump.com, you can see all the submissions that are in queue to make it onto broadcast airwaves, as well as make more submissions yourself. The popularity of the platform — with over 1 million submissions since launch — has led to more tools to edit and graphics to your videos, and have complete creative control.

Check out more at www.mtvbump.com.