Top 5 Branded Videos of the Week: KSI leads the way as both a creator and a sponsor

Welcome to our rundown of the most-watched branded YouTube videos of the week.

We’re publishing this snippet of a larger Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report in order to analyze sponsorship trends in the creator economy. Any video launched in tandem with an official brand partner is eligible for the ranking.

And – as the name up above would imply – all the data comes from Gospel Stats. If you’re interested in learning more about Gospel – and which brands are sponsoring what creators on YouTube – click here.

The Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report is back! This week, we’re looking at a MrBeast video, a video inspired by a MrBeast video, and a video that shows someone watching a MrBeast video. The guy sure is popular.

Halloween is a big deal too, and it also influenced this week’s ranking. Read on to learn more:

#1 World’s Deadliest Laser Maze!
Channel: MrBeast
Brand: Prime Hydration

Let’s start with the man of the moment on YouTube. MrBeast‘s latest big-budget spectacular was a homemade laser maze spread across an entire warehouse floor. As if that didn’t present a big enough challenge for Jimmy Donaldson‘s contestants, he also threw them an extra wager: Anyone who could make it across the maze while holding a bottle of Prime earned an additional cash prize. You’ll have to watch the conclusion to see how that went, but on the surface level, YouTube’s top individual creator is spreading the love. He’s using his coveted sponsorship slots to uplift the creators behind a breakout product. Logan Paul and KSI must be proud. Speaking of which…

#2 SIDEMEN $20,000 VS $20 PLANE TICKET
Channel: Sidemen
Brand: Magic Travel

The Sidemen (including KSI) took the #2 spot in this week’s ranking of sponsored videos. The British septet has become a veritable supergroup thanks to their colorful personalities and their astute analysis of YouTube trends. Their experience with cheap and expensive air travel sounds like it could be a MrBeast concept, but it’s become a familiar format for the Sidemen and a palpable opportunity for the group’s brand sponsors. Magic Travel reaped the benefits of the latest Sidemen travel video, which has pulled in 8.3 million views even though it’s more than 90 minutes long.

#3 I Stayed in Luxury Tiny Homes
Channel: Ryan Trahan
Brand: Air Up

Hey, it’s Air Up again! The water bottle company has emerged as a regular backer of YouTube’s top creators, including Airrack, the members of AMP, and now Ryan Trahan. The innovator behind the penny challenge joined forces with Air Up to fund his stays at the most luxurious tiny homes in America. He took his trusty water bottle with him as he made his visits, and that gave him a semi-natural segue into his Air Up plug. The water bottle brand has figured out that it can position itself as the brand behind YouTube’s most adventurous ideas. The sky’s the limit with a pitch like that — after all, even the Ryan Trahans and Airracks of the world need to stay hydrated.

#4 watch me cosplay as Nami from One Piece…
Channel: Clara Dao
Brand: Temu

Temu has endured its share of negative headlines, but the fast fashion brand attempted to rehabilitate its image with a YouTube campaign that led into the Halloween holiday. It sponsored 19 videos with at least 30,000 views during the week of October 29. Many of those videos discussed strategies for sourcing costume materials on the cheap. Clara Dao, who uploaded the most-watched Temu-branded video of the week, relied on the retail platform to put together her cosplay of Nami from One Piece. Her fans didn’t love that decision. “Nami might be a pirate,” wrote one commenter, “but Temu is the one robbing your information and human rights.”

BONUS: #1,634 i edited myself into BARBIE
Channel: CrayCrayJay
Brand: HalloweenCostumes.com

If you need a palate cleanser after all that Temu-themed content, take a look at another Halloween-centric influencer marketing campaign. HalloweenCostumes.com is a self-explanatory business, and it took advantage of holiday-weekend YouTube traffic by sponsoring videos that relate to the year’s most common costumes. Naturally, Barbie is one of those get-ups, which is why HalloweenCostumes.com put its name on CrayCrayJay‘s pink-tinged video. Other related sponsorships featured the horror sequels Saw X and Halloween 2. It’s all the fun of the holiday without the fast fashion bit.

…and there’s a lot more data where that came from. If you’re interested in learning more about Gospel – and which brands are sponsoring what creators on YouTube – click here.