Cats are the overlords of the internet. On YouTube, Reddit and Instagram, cats are everywhere. There’s Maru, the super famous Japanese cat whose YouTube channel has racked up over 188 million views and Grumpy Cat, the Snowshoe Siamese cat behind one of last year’s most popular memes.
Then there are thousands of hours of less famous cats driving traffic to YouTube and giving value to its ads. Last summer Katie Hill and Scott Stulen of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis spent hours sifting through these videos for #catvidfest, a festival celebrating internet cat videos.
Hill and Stulen are giving a talk at SXSW about the success of #catvidfest and the cultural significance of cats on the web. Ahead of their talk, and just for fun, Marketing challenged them to pick their five favourite videos starring cats.
Meow Mix
Morris
Cats with Thumbs
Herding Cats
Toyota New Zealand
Bonus: Here’s Marketing‘s Russ Martin posing with Grumpy Cat, one of the special guests Mashable brought to SXSW. If you’re in Austin you can meet grumpy cat, too.
