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Oliver Twist- when D’banj, Don Jazzy went viral

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Go back in time when D'banj and Don Jazzy produced the first viral content in the Nigerian entertainment scene.
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Nowadays Nigerian artistes and celebrities are pros at going viral. It wasnt like that four years ago. As a matter of fact the word ‘viral’ didn’t exist then at least in these parts.

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During this period the dynamic duo of pop music in Nigeria D’banj and Don Jazzy would blaze the trail for viral marketing in Nigeria.

After the lukewarm reception of D’banj’s ‘Oliver Twist’ single, D’banj and Don Jazzy decided to drive up the promotion for the single. What they embarked on will be a genius marketing strategy.

In August 2011, Mo’Hits Records uploaded a video of Don Jazzy and D’banj in a funny dance rendition of the new single. In the clip they were later joined by Wande Coal and Dr. Sid. At the end of the video they told fans to send in their video clips of them 'dancing/jonzing' to Oliver Twist. A cash prize would be given to the creators of the best video.

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Once that video went public all hell was let loose. After laughing at Don Jazzy and D’banj in the video people started recording their own versions of the spoof dance video.

Mo’ Hits received thousands of entries within a couple of days from Nigerians and Nigerians living abroad. The videos bordered from the ridiculous to the creative.

There is a video of three men inside an empty swimming pool dancing to Oliver Twist. Pop group A’won Boyz released their own video that saw them dancing awkwardly and hilariously to the pop tune. In a video that later became 7th in the competition a young a lady dresses up as the caricature of a busty old woman. There is even a video of a woman twerking to the jam.

All in all the videos were fun to watch and as the trend increased the song itself started to pick up in clubs and on radio stations.

The competition had propelled the initially shunned song into another hit for D’banj. It was a brilliant way to market a song that critics had tagged watery and cheesy.

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It can be said that if not for that video 'Oliver Twist' wouldn't have been a smash hit. The song would later on become a worldwide hit and enter the charts in the United Kingdom.

The original video would come out on March 19, 2012. By the time the video was published it was clear that there was a huge crack in D’banj and Don Jazzy’s relationship.

Despite the split between D’banj and Don Jazzy the video would prove to be monumental to Nigerian pop culture as it became influential in helping Nigerian music berth in the United States. Let’s not forget that Kanye West was in the video.

While there have been many campaigns by celebs that have gone viral in Nigeria, the 'Oliver Twist' dance competition would never be forgotten.

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You can watch the winning video below;

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