http://www.birminghammail.net/birmingham-sport/aston-villa-fc/aston-villa-news/2012/01/27/aston-villa-the-video-fake-that-fooled-liverpool-bosses-before-20-million-downing-move-97319-30207316/
" ASTON Villa banked £20 million for star winger Stewart Downing – after Liverpool FC bosses were fooled by this FAKE footage of the England man’s skills.
The Anfield club’s top brass vowed to sign Downing after being dazzled by YouTube clips of him kicking balls into five wheelie bins from long range.
But American duo John Henry and Tom Werner only later realised that the footage had been digitally enhanced as part of a viral video campaign to boost season ticket sales at Villa.
Downing still joined Liverpool from Villa in a £20 million deal last summer after handing in a transfer request to force through his move.
But he has flopped at Anfield so far and is still awaiting his first goal or assist in the Premier League.
“There was some footage of Stewart where he was, from 30 yards away, kicking a football into five different trash cans and it was brilliant,” said chairman Werner.
“John and I said: ‘Oh my God, this player is brilliant, we’ve got to figure out a way to make a deal with him’.”
The doctored Downing footage was the handiwork of video expert Nick Finney and other members of Villa’s media and marketing team.
Other past and present Villa stars, including James Milner, Carlos Cuellar, Ashley Young and John Carew, also featured in the viral campaign.
With a little editing suite help, Cuellar aimed a precise punt at a noisy groundsman to stop his lawnmower disturbing an interview, Carew fixed a faulty light at Villa Park with an amazing volley, and Young struck the crossbar from the halfway line, despite being blind-folded.
Virals are short and snappy videos which become popular through the process of internet sharing, typically through social networking websites and email.
The cleverly-crafted, home-produced clips were launched by the club on YouTube and have been viewed by hundreds of thousand people across the world.
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