For many people, having a video go viral would be a dream come true. It's difficult to tell just what will cause people to pay attention, and the strangest videos can amass seemingly impossible numbers of hits. One video that has racked up millions of views is entitled, "David After Dentist." A short video of a little boy reacting to the pain medication he was given at the dentist, "David After Dentist," has amassed over 129 million views. It's also amassed a bucket load of money for David's family. So much money, in fact, that the man who shot the footage, David's father, David DeVore, Sr., left his job as a real estate agent so he could manage the revenue from the video. While it's not the most flattering video ever (and the now teenaged David, Jr. must be seriously over it now), the footage seems to have struck a chord with just about everyone. Here's how one family took a two minute video – and turned it into a six-figure income.
David DeVore, Sr., uploaded the video to YouTube in 2009. The family just thought it was funny. Apparently, a lot of other people did, too. Within three days, the video had been viewed more than three million times. The fact that the video was such a hit proved to be fortuitous for the DeVore family. The market crash of 2008 had made being a realtor seriously difficult, so David DeVore, Sr., ditched the rental/sales market, and poured all of his energy into the social media world. The first stop? Becoming a YouTube partner. With the YouTube partnership, the DeVore family began earning 1/2 of a cent for every view of the ads that ran before their video. Multiply that by 130 million views and that's a mighty healthy income.
As their video became more and more popular, and DeVore, Sr. and his wife leveraged it for more income, other people began approaching them for advice on how to make money through social media. Unwittingly, a new income stream was born. DeVore, Sr., now works as a social media consultant. Additionally, the video has been used in other venues, including a prominent spot in a Super Bowl ad starring Beyonce. The family was paid $12,000 for the ad placement, and a share of the ad revenue from the YouTube play, as a YouTube partner. According to Business Insider, between the usage and the YouTube revenue, they probably earned upwards of $138,000 for the Super Bowl spot alone. The family has also produced "David After Dentist" merchandise, including t-shirts and mugs.
In 2010, when the video had racked up around 54 million views, the family reportedly made $150,000. In subsequent interviews over the years, they have stated the same number, though the number of video views has more than doubled. They are fairly tight-lipped about exactly how much it is that they make per month. They do admit it is an appreciable amount and that it fluctuates. Estimates of their total income from the video range from $150,000 to nearly $500,000. The DeVore's manage the video on their own, and while that sometimes makes them worried that they are not asking for enough money from sponsors and advertisers, it also means that they are pocketing all of the revenue themselves. Whatever their actual income is, it has made for a fairly comfortable living. Not bad for a short video of a little kid coming home from the dentist.
