The first video uploaded to social media by Industrial Design student William Andres Rico Velez, starring “Black Banana,” went from having zero views the afternoon it was published to more than 10 million the following day. The experimental production whose characters are fruits went viral in a very short time and today constitutes the so-called “fruit novelas.” In a matter of hours, the follower count also went from zero to 20,000, and it continues to grow.
“This growth is not accidental, because behind the content there is systematic work of audience analysis, retention, and behavior on digital platforms,” the author has said in different settings, as today he is in the spotlight because of his idea. “I began by analyzing trends, measuring retention, and building a methodology to produce the episodes.”
Analysis behind the “fruit novelas”
That creative process also includes scriptwriting, sketching, character design, and the use of artificial intelligence for animation and dubbing in multiple languages. His work sparked the interest of different production companies and media outlets outside the country, which has allowed Rico Velez to project his career in the audiovisual industry. “People even write to me from places like Japan; I also receive direct messages from people in other countries asking about the episodes, commenting on the story, or telling me they follow the series,” he said.
The designer, originally from Sincelejo (Sucre), explained to the newspaper El Meridiano that behind the “fruit novelas” there is a detailed analysis of digital behavior, narrative, and audiovisual consumption, focused on understanding how to capture and maintain the public’s attention. “I studied how products go viral on social media, how to increase reach and retention. I analyzed vertical formats, music videos, and even the speed at which the characters speak in order to maintain the viewer’s attention,” he explained.
He also said that he downloaded comments and analyzed patterns, schedules, and expressions most frequently repeated by people. “That’s when I understood that many people said ‘my favorite novela’ or compared the stories to Turkish novelas, Mexican melodramas, and K-dramas. So I began building the format by mixing all those elements,” he explained.
In the middle of his initial search, he admits that he found references to international formats such as ‘Fruit Island,’ a U.S. production that used animated fruits to parody reality shows and dramas. Today, his stories constantly evolve from the reactions of the audience on social media, allowing him to adapt ideas and phrases that arise directly from the comments.
Artificial intelligence yes, but not too much
“The development is built between what people comment and what I create day by day. That allows me to play with the audience’s expectations. People feel that I am reading what they write because many times I adapt expressions or ideas they leave in comments within the story,” he added in the same outlet.
That is how Rico Velez’s characters, fruits with human bodies all created with artificial intelligence, have captured the attention of thousands. “A Dark Secret,” the first “fruit novela” released on social media, was followed by “Black Banana,” “Orange and Lemon” through several installments that already accumulate more than six million views on TikTok alone.
A character has also become famous, perhaps not so much because of his figure but because of his name: Broco-Lee, one of the designer’s most recent productions that has gone viral over the last two months in Mexico, Spain, and the United States.
“The development is built between what people comment and what I create day by day. That allows me to play with the audience’s expectations,” Rico Velez explained to El Meridiano. “People feel that I am reading what they write because many times I adapt expressions or ideas they leave in comments within the story.”
Although the fruit novelas quickly positioned him on the internet, the creator from Sincelejo stated that he is currently working on other projects related to audiovisual production.
“I work a lot in animation, 3D modeling, and the construction of audiovisual narratives. The ‘fruit novelas’ have opened doors for me both nationally and internationally, especially in projects related to artificial intelligence and audiovisual production. The idea is that the fruit novelas do not remain only as an internet trend, but rather to develop a solid narrative line and create many more projects around this,” he said.