On Oct. 18, 2014, many young adults clicked the unsubscribe button as the CollegeHumor-produced video titled “How to Prepare for Second Puberty” appeared on their YouTube feeds.
Featuring tutorials on how to avoid gaining weight for those in their mid-40s and how to cope with decline in both mental and physical dexterity, the video left the younger demographic at a loss of words.
Not only does this video serve as a wakeup call for CollegeHumor, but it also demonstrates how the channel’s creators have strayed from their core viewing group: millennials.
Producing videos based on the notion that their content would age with the writers, CollegeHumor videos are now deteriorating at an almost terrifying rate, an example of which can be seen in one of their recently produced videos, “Inside Hillary’s Oval Office.” Featuring a 360-degree video tour of Clinton’s office, the video racked up a disastrous 47 to 53 percent dislike ratio, which is only 9 percent off of Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” the current world-record holder in this metric.
It is becoming increasingly evident that CollegeHumor is setting itself down a path of no return. But their videos were not always bland and unoriginal.
Founded in early 1999 by partners Josh Abramson and Ricky Van Veen, early CollegeHumor featured successful series like “Prank Wars: Streeter and Amir” and “If Google was a Guy.”
The popularity of the channel relied on its relatability for millennials. In fact, the channel’s most viewed and liked video was “The Six Girls You’ll Date in College,” suggesting that it was the college-aged audience that was fueling the channel’s success.
As time passed, though, CollegeHumor started redirecting its path. Losing core staff members such as Dan Gurewitch to the “Last Week Tonight Show with John Oliver,” Ower Parsons to “The Daily Show” and David Young to “The Tonight Show,” CollegeHumor was forced to find and hire less talented staffers.
Trying to succeed in the “viral video” market, the channel has suffered a loss of many dedicated viewers. Sophomore Andrew Gao has seen his love of it fade.
“I enjoyed the practical pranks produced by the channel in [their] early days,” said Gao. “I don’t watch them as much anymore, however, as I find their new content pretty unappealing and distasteful.”
Although CollegeHumor has attempted to produce videos based on current trends, it has only resulted in cringey, tasteless videos such as its “Yay or Nay” series, with no clear target demographic or viewing statistic in sight.
All may not be lost, however. If CollegeHumor were to take a huge leap back and focus on the relatable and original material that made them popular in the first place, the channel could stage a comeback and return to favor among the audience it should be targeting.
