A while ago The Grocer asked what it takes to ‘go viral’.

If you’re not down with the lingo, that’s the holy grail of online marketers, when content you’ve posted develops its own momentum; friends start telling friends and, before you know it, four million people have seen a clip of your dad on the toilet.

With well over 350,000 hits on YouTube in just a few days, Yeo Valley has a hit on its hands. (Here's the video, by the way.)

That number is modest compared to the millions who saw its rapping farmers in an X Factor ad break the other night. But posting a video on YouTube costs nothing and, significantly for a brand, recommendations from mates are worth more than any amount of TV exposure.

The rappers represent one of those ideas that could have gone either way. In fact, it could have been a colossal embarrassment best forgotten by all. (And The Grocer’s resident hip-hop expert still reckons their flow is pretty wack, whatever that means.)

But Yeo Valley chief executive Tim Mead, who spoke to The Grocer in a Big Interview just the other week, is not averse to taking the occasional punt.

And like ‘Newport’, the Welsh pastiche of Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ tribute to the Big Apple, the farmers have touched on something in the public consciousness.

True, Facebook campaigns and YouTube clips don’t fill the fridge with yoghurt. But coming at a time when the organic sector needs all the respect it can get, this represents a coup for the brand.

As a sponsor of the festival, Yeo Valley will certainly be at Glastonbury next time. At this rate, the Valley rappers might be there with them – on stage.

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