Bait and Switch Videos

Parent entry for this type of meme.

Hey wanna see an awesome video? Click Here

The Rickroll (which I hope you did not just fall for) is the most common kind of Bait and Switch Videos. You are promised a type of video and instead you are given something else entirely. This is a type of trolling. What you get may be a video that someone is trying to advertise, a link to a location with what you thought that you were going to get (usually lead to a virus), a Rickroll (or variation thereof), a “shock image”: (can be gross or scary), or something else entirely. Sometimes the video actually starts out with what is promised, but switches partway through.

Rickroll

Usually given in the form of a link to another music video. The most common type.

Scary Prank Videos

You are watching a nice calm video and then BAM! Some freaky face pops up and scares the crap out of you. Recording people’s reactions to this has became a meme all it’s own.

On an completely unrelated note,

Ghost Hidden in a Car Commercial (THIS IS REAL):

Two Girls One Cup

People don’t realize what is happening until it is to late… Reaction videos for this have also become a meme.

No video. I am not showing this.

Ads

You are promised part X of a TV show that you searched for. What you get is a link to a site that will give you viruses. Never click these.

EXAMPLE:

Fake Out

If a video in a series is not yet released, people make fake ones to trick people. The examples below are examples of these fakes.

Meet the Medic:

YuGiOh Abridged 46:

Popular Targets

People Looking for Movie / Game Trailers / Footage
Abridged Series Watchers
People who try to watch TV on Youtube
Anyone who falls for it

Other Information

This can happen on Youtube itself, with misleadingly titled videos, or with links from other sites to youtube. These videos usually have a misleading image in the middle of the video, so that the thumbnail on youtube looks legit. Sometime they even make names that seem legit.

4chan’s porn flood was sort of an example of misleading videos.

Sub-Memes:
Rickroll
Scary Prank Reaction Videos
Goatse.cx
Two Girls One Cup Reactions