Seeing as this column is focused on Twitter and its social media counterparts, I figured it would be fitting to incorporate at least one #tbt-style article, or “throwback Thursday” if you’re reading the print version (even though today is a Friday).

Invisible Children may not have accomplished the goal it set out to achieve, and its founder may have tarnished the reputation of both himself and his company in the process, but Kony 2012 unearthed the most potent marketing technique of the early 21st century.

For those of you either born within the past two years or somehow sheltered from this phenomenon, Kony 2012 was a YouTube video uploaded on March 5, 2012, aimed at heightening awareness of Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony’s severe human-rights abuses. Setting off chatter, the video challenged viewers to “make Joseph Kony famous” by sharing the film on their various social media platforms and putting up posters in their hometowns.

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I could very easily discuss the merits of this campaign, the flaws of the message, and so on. Where did Invisible Children’s funding really go? Why are they blaming American politicians rather than Ugandan ones for this atrocity? What percentage of the video is actually based on factual evidence (not as much as you’d think)? But I prefer to not beat a dead horse. There are wonderfully written articles in the Washington Post and The Guardian already examining these topics in detail.

To me, the more compelling narrative behind this widely-publicized campaign is just how well it worked. Within four days, the video had garnered over 50 million views. After just a week, that number had risen to 75 million. So what did Invisible Children do differently from other humanitarian campaigns in order to win so much attention? World Vision posted a video with a similar message almost exactly two years prior to “Kony 2012”’s release, but that stagnated at a mere 2,464 views.

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To some, the answer might be obvious. The video editing was unreal. The music connected with its intended audience. The interviews with Ugandans were perfectly placed, striking a balance with viewers between familiarity and novelty. Kony 2012 felt like something you’d watch in a movie theater with friends rather than alone in your room on your phone (like I did). This method—using entertainment value to deliver news is common to our times.