As it turns out, the viral videos that popped up last month were part of a guerrilla marketing campaign.
The company that made them said it wouldn't reveal how they made the popcorn pop, but now, the man behind the videos let CNNin on the secret.
The videos have become a global internet sensation -- friends making popcorn by simultaneously ringing their cell phones. But, it turns out the videos were a hoax -- and Abraham Glezerman is the man behind the joke.
Glezerman says, "I'm happy that it surpassed our expectations."
Glezerman is the CEO of Cardo Systems, and he says the videos were actually an internet advertisement for the company's product, bluetooth headsets.
It's what's known as "viral advertising," because when consumers like what they see, they pass them along, like a virus.
So, how did Glezerman come up with that concept?
"We sat together and said. 'how can we create something that's funny, hilarious?' [It] causes people trying to emulate it, and eventually touching on our business."
Apparently, the campaign worked. Some posted their own video versions, trying to solve the mystery of how they got those kernels to pop.
One went as far as disassembling a microwave.Finally, for the first time the real answer:
"The real thing is a mixture between the kitchen stove and digital editing," Glezerman said.
He says he fried the popcorn separately someplace else, and then he just dropped the pieces in the shot, digitally removed the kernels later.
But did it really make the point to buy the company's bluetooth?
Glezerman says, "If you get too quirky, or a little too obtuse with what you're trying to say people might just miss the whole idea."
What about the idea the videos try to scare people who hold cells phone close to their heads?
"We really never meant to insinuate any of that. the truth is that it was funny," Glezerman says, not to scare people.
"You know stealth marketing has to maintain a secret and you don't use CNN, the world's stage, to let you know."
Glezerman says the videos were so successful their bluetooth sales shot up 100 percent since their release.
