FARGO — Myles Montplaisir was an exercise science major at Minnesota State Moorhead, where he played football for the Dragons, but now he's earned a reputation for tackling the tough questions: like comparing Busch Light beer to Spotted Cow beer.
The aforementioned video lasted more than three minutes. Montplaisir posted the video last summer that now has more than two million views on Facebook less than a year later.
“That was the first one that pushed us to where we are now,” said Montplaisir, a Fargo Shanley graduate.
Montplaisir created a Midwest entertainment social media channel last summer called “You Betcha.” Most of the content, which includes podcasts, vlogs and video sketches, features Montplaisir's mostly humorous take on life in the Midwest. “You Betcha” is on multiple social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter.
“I'm very proud to be a Midwest man,” Montplaisir said. “The Midwest gets a lot of wear and tear, especially from people who aren't from here.”
Montplaisir said the biggest growth has been on Facebook as the page reached 100 followers near the end of June 2018. Now, it has more than 120,000 likes. “You Betcha” also has 140,000 followers on Facebook, and Montplaisir said videos on his page have had about 44 million views since last June.
“It's kind of bananas to say it out loud,” Montplaisir said.
A video he posted about a month ago mocking beer lovers has received nearly six million views on Facebook with nearly 55,000 shares. Montplaisir said building a large audience was always the goal, but he didn't expect such rapid growth.
“That was the hope, like five years later,” Montplaisir said. “I thought it would take a lot longer to get to the point where we had videos with millions of views.”
Montplaisir said he has been labeled the “Busch guy” by fans of the “You Betcha” content, as the Busch Light is a common element in many of the videos. When Montplaisir opens a can of Busch Light in his videos, he usually makes a “Buschhhhhhhhhh” sound, like the beer company's commercials. He takes a drink and generally follows it up with a “God, that's cold.”
Montplaisir has gained a level of celebrity for its association with Busch Light.
“Someone will just walk by and go 'Buschhhhhhhhhh' and keep walking and not say anything else,” Montplaisir said. “I knew there were people drinking Busch Light in the Midwest.”
Montplaisir has held live events it calls bar takeovers in North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. He has one planned for Missouri later this month.
Among Montplaisir's other most-viewed videos are “5 Stages of Shoveling,” “5 Stages of a Round of Golf,” and “When Someone Finds You're From the Midwest.” Everyone has an offhand element of humor about living in the Midwest.
“It started as entertainment and naturally gravitated toward comedy,” Montplaisir said.
Montplaisir said he believes part of the reason the videos have taken off in popularity is because they deal with subject matter that audiences can relate to.
He played football for four seasons at MSUM, an experience Montplaisir believes helped broaden his knowledge of Midwest culture. He played multiple positions at MSUM, including quarterback and tight end.
“You learn about the culture, especially the Midwest, and what everyone is like by joining a football team full of people from the Midwest,” Montplaisir said. “You learn about different parts of the culture.”
Montplaisir was creating marketing videos for clients before starting “You Betcha.” From there, he decided he wanted to post videos and content for himself, not material he needed to get the OK from clients.
Montplaisir said he waited to release the “Spotted Cow vs. Busch Light” video for a few weeks because he wasn't sure it would cause a reaction.
“There was no punch to it.” said Montplazier. “There was clearly no such thing The funny. … I should have just posted it.”
In that video, Montplaisir referred to Busch Light as the “Nectar of the Gods,” a phrase he's used on a variety of apparel, including t-shirts, hats, and hoodies. He said he monetizes “You Betcha” through ad impressions and merchandise.
“Where it goes from here is a very interesting question,” Montplaisir said.
“Ryan the T-shirt guy” is one of the characters in “You Betcha” content. It helps to create the merchandise. Montplaisir said his girlfriend is a wedding videographer who helps shoot the videos. Montplaisir said he does video editing, a skill he learned watching YouTube videos.
Montplaisir said the feedback he received from the videos was mostly positive. Since some of the content pokes fun at people, it has occasionally seen comments in the comments. He said that “every name under the book is called,” which was upsetting at first.
“You just get used to it after a while,” Montplaisir said. “My favorite is when people call me Fat Baker Mayfield. This happens more than you think. I am aware enough to know that I can see it. … The positivity is much more overwhelming than the negativity.”
