Yesterday when we wrote about viral videos we suggested that a small business owner could do no wrong by making one unless it was outwardly offensive. While at the time we didn't have a video to illustrate the point, today an excellent example of what NOT to do appeared on our radar.

In an apparent attempt to gain attention for her new single, "The Way That I Love You," singer Ashanti and her marketing people at Universal Music Group posted a fake news clip. It reports that the new Ashanti video, which features a woman (yes, Ashanti) murdering her cheating man, has inspired a string of copy cat crimes. While that's all awkward enough (and p.s. what does that have to do with the Ashanti song?), things start to get really strange once you get into the video. Rolling Stone has a succinct description: "Things get weird and uncomfortable when police at the fake crime scene find a blood-splattered message on the wall that reads 'Black children will die.' The police name the main suspect in the crime 'Commercial Hip Hop,' and 'Commercial Hip Hop' wants to kill black children because they are 'playing me like a fool.'"

Naturally instead of bumping the sales of Ashanti's new record, the bizarre video has actually resulted in protests in L.A. Watch it here,if you're interested (via Jezebel).

This is all a very long-winded way of saying that if you're going to do a viral video, make sure that it's done right. That means ensuring that it's not offensive, and that it, y'know, actually makes sense. Don't roll your eyes—if seasoned record advertisers screw up this badly on a viral video, it's a message worth repeating.