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Sony Goes Viral With 'Thriller'

New YouTube videos promote song's 25th anniversary

By Jim O'Neill, Newser User

Posted Mar 10, 2008 11:15 AM CDT

(Newser) – When Sony BMG wanted to work up some excitement for the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” a conventional campaign using the reclusive artist didn't look like a winner. So the label went the guerrilla route, staging “impromptu breakouts” of the "Thriller" zombie dance at locations including the London Underground and posting them on YouTube, reports the New York Times.

The dance has been repeated in a Copenhagen train station and outside the Sydney Opera House, and the videos have been seen more than a million times. But that's peanuts compared to the amateur video of 1,000-plus orange-suited Filipino prison inmates performing the dance; that clip has been viewed more than 11 million times.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (3)]

Michael Jackson flashes a V-sign to Japanese media upon his arrival at Narita international airport, near Tokyo in this 2007 file photo.Jackson appeared in a video to thank fans for the success of "Thriller,"... (Associated Press)

Michael Jackson's Thriller has been a hit for 25 years. Fans at an Orlando Magic game dance to the song on October 31. (Getty Images)

Phillipino Jail Thriller (sungeun6985 (YouTube))

Sexy Thriller (reachsooski (YouTube))

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Thriller dance on the tube - Michael Jackson thriller (barryg100 (YouTube))

'80s Dances: How To Do The Thriller (VideoJug (YouTube))

Michael Jackson-Thriller (michaeljackson (YouTube))

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Sony Goes Viral With 'Thriller'