Evolution of Dance 1 & 2

Evolution of Dance, a toe-tapping journey through the history of dancing styles, is one of the most popular YouTube videos of all time, second only to Avril Lavigne’s “Girlfriend” music video. But how do you make money off more than 109 million views?

Judson Laipply, the motivational speaker/comedian and dynamic dancer behind the original Evolution of Dance, is trying to figure that out, with today’s release of Evolution of Dance 2.

Debuting on The Today Show, the new video is an awful lot like the old one, with Laipply dancing in his trademark Orange Crush shirt before a live college audience — just with new, licensed songs (Fergie’s “London Bridge” among them). Laipply couldn’t include advertising in the original video because the songs weren’t licensed, although they were a part of motivational speaking routine about life, change and how dance styles evolve through the decades.

The licensing for the new video wasn’t cheap, but it means Laipply could bring on some advertisers without attracting the recording industry’s ire. Evolution of Dance 2 (EOD2) has two sponsors: PeopleJam, a self-improvement and advice site and Saveology, a comparison shopping site that helps consumers find the best values online.

The chief executive of PeopleJam snagged the chance to plan and release EOD2 because he saw the video’s mission in line with the company as a resource for self-improvement. A few weeks ago, Evolution of You was launched as an interactive application (like OfficeMax’s Elf Yourself), allowing users to upload a picture of your head or someone else’s to dance along with Laipply. However, there is heavy promotion of PeopleJam and Saveology in the video everywhere, which could be a turn-off to fans of the original video. Fortunately the logos have been removed for the official Evolution of Dance 2 video.

There are even promotions tied in with the release of the Evolution of Dance sequel: an IBeatYou dance-off with a $5,000 prize and a sweepstakes to win a smart car. EOD2 isn’t even hosted on Laipply’s YouTube channel, but one controlled by PeopleJam, which makes it definitely feel more commercial than the original. While longtime fans of Laipply and the original Evolution of Dance may love the sequel anyway, it’s interesting how these sponsorships and promotions can change the tone of what began as a user-created video (the majority of videos on YouTube). Laipply attributes some of the success of the original video to the fact that it wasn’t overly slick and professional, and says that he intentionally chose to cut scenes and replicate a grainier look for the sequel, even though it was shot with multiple cameras (one of them being in HD) — “I think that is really important. Especially from user-generated content, people don’t want overproduced-looking videos.”