Sesame Street Starts Feather-Brained Turf War In Birdwalk Empire

The internet loves a mash-up. Whether it is Darth Vader uttering lines from other movies or He-Man singing 90s pop, the web loves it when things get mixed up. So what could be more popular than kid's puppet characters taking on one of TV's favourite gangster shows?

Sesame Street has struck again. Fresh from seeing Cookie Monster spoofing Call Me Maybe, the show's googley-eyed creatures are back, this time with their own version of Boardwalk Empire.

In this version, Steve Buscemi's brutal gangster Nucky Thompson becomes Nucky Ducky, a duck willing to risk his feathers to wander into chicken territory.

The two gangs meet and are spitting feathers until Agent Van Cuckoo crash lands on to the scene and brokers a peace between the warring flocks.

The four-minute clip is a weird mix of suited puppets, bad puns and characters like Clucky Luciano and Mallard Capone. The strange mix of two genres has proved popular online, garnering over 113,000 views and 64,000 shares since it was launched five days ago.

It's a fun short that will have you squawking bird jokes for the rest of the day.

Cookie Monster Does His Own Version Of Call Me Maybe

Just when you thought it was safe to go back to the internet in fear of watching yet another parody of Call Me Maybe, another one comes along.

Carly Rae Jepsen’s hit song is the most covered song on the web at the moment, with cheerleaders, singing politicians and even some remarkably talented Corgis all creating their own YouTube renditions in recent weeks.

The latest parody hit the web yesterday and has soared up the Viral Video Chart in no time. However, the good news is this one is definitely worth watching.

It comes from the Sesame Street Workshop and features The Cookie Monster singing about, well, what else? Cookies! 

Yep, while the original music video features the singer flirting with a hunky fella, this affectionate send-up sees Cookie Monster staring lovingly at a bowl of his favourite snack. 

He sings: "It's hard to look at your snack, baby. But you got cookie. So share it maybe?"

Awww, it's enough to make the child inside you melt with pleasure. And we are not the only ones bowled over.

The “Share It Maybe” parody has already been seen over 1 million times already and been written about in glowing terms by some of the most influential blogs on the web.

Sesame Street Stars Feature In New TomTom Ad

Trying to navigate your way from a to b can be really tough.

Having to stop every five minutes to check your map is a pain, as is relying on the goodness of strangers for directions.

Plus the whole saga is usually played out amid a backdrop of constant arguments about whose fault was it in the first place. Let's face it, we could all do without the hassle.

So wouldn't it be nice to have Bert & Ernie from Sesame Street in the car with you to help guide you to your chosen destination?

After all, these are the Muppets that helped us read and write. It seems only natural that they should be the ones to show us the right path later in life.

Well, dream no longer. The two puppets are the latest stars to sign up to sat-nav makers TomTom. That means you can find where you need to go, and laugh at the same time. In fact, the only arguments in the car will be the sound of the famous odd couple bickering.

Admittedly, taking directions from a couple of puppets whose theme tune for the last 42 years is about how they cannot find their way home is slightly worrying, but then this is Bert & Ernie.

If you are going to get lost, you may as well get lost with a couple of childhood heroes. Check out their hilarious ad below.

Disclosure: Unruly is distributing this video on behalf of Tom Tom. This post is not part of the commercial plan and is written by the editorial team at Unruly, whose opinions are always independent, sometimes scurrilous, and never knowingly under-researched.

Top 10 Sesame Street Videos

Today's chart was brought to you by the letters 'J' and 'H'. Yep, the late Jim Henson, the mastermind behind such shows as Sesame Street and The Muppets, would have turned 75 last Friday.

To mark the occasion, Google recently added some Muppets to its home page (above). And here at Meme Machine, we wanted to pay our own special tribute to the ultimate puppet master by compiling a chart of the most shared Sesame Street videos of all time.

There are quite a lot to choose from. Forget telling us how to count to 10, there are a lot of brands that could learn a lot from following Sesame Street’s approach to social video and how to make the most out of meme culture.

Indeed, whoever is doing the Sesame Street Workshop's social media strategy deserves a big pat on the back. Seriously, give them a cookie.

And how have they done it? By creating content that appeals equally to both young and old. Simple.

As always, our chart is based on shares. So take a look at the Top 10 most popular shared videos below.

If you want to see our Top 20 chart then follow our link. 

10. Ernie And His Rubber Duckie

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Top 10 Most Shared Puppet Ads

Ford recently put its social media strategy in the hands of an obnoxious, misogynistic and sorry-looking orange puppet called Doug.

At first glance, it may not seem like the most logical step in the world, but then, the car giants are certainly not the first to use puppet power to try and generate interest in their ad campaigns.

Puppets, after all, can get away with things you or I cannot. For example, an obnoxious pig that hits people is not going to charm anyone. But stick a hand up its bum and a give it a blonde wig and you have the much-loved Miss Piggy.

It's the same with the Doug. Ask a male actor to deliver his lines and it would just cause offence. But because it's a puppet calling a female reporter 'Prettypants', it is OK.

In fact, Doug, voiced by comedian Paul F. Tompkins, even has his own YouTube channel, and an army of fans on Twitter and Facebook. Not that you will be seeing him on TV. Doug is intended purely for social video.

“We really developed these videos for the YouTube generation, if you will, that really enjoys entertainment,” says Jon Beebe, digital communications manager at Ford.

“The purpose of the videos is to make people take a left-hand turn from their daily web activities and pay attention to Doug the personality, but also the vehicle that he’s in and discussing.”

Doug is also 'a left-hand turn' for Ford, but - to continue the driving metaphor - it seems the car giants are at least steering in the right direction with this bold approach to social video. After all, social media allows brands to be a little bit more edgy and experimental in their content.

But which have been the most successful? Well, we have compiled a chart of the most shared puppet commercials of all time, based on the number of shares on Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere.

But if you prefer, you can watch the top 10 below.

Is your favourite in there? Let us know.

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Top 10 YouTube Heroes Of 2010

"So this is Christmas? And what have we got? Another year over, and a new one just begun."

OK, so we have a week and a half left until the end of 2010, but I think we can all safely agree that it has been a great year for viral.

From yet more amusing cats to the Old Spice guy, let us not forget those crazy, crazy people who brought us some of the best moments of 2010. The heroes and the villains who turned out to be OUR heroes.

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