Top 5 Branded Videos of the Week: Even a VPN can’t get you into Colin Furze’s secret garage

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.

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The Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report is back, and this time, someone other than MrBeast is sitting in the top spot. But Jimmy Donaldson‘s fans need not worry, because he’s only dropped to second place.

Read on to hear about DeLoreans, cast saws, and all the other odd items that factored into this week’s most-watched branded YouTube videos.

#1 Digging a SECRET GARAGE Part 1
Channel: Colin Furze
Brand: Surfshark VPN

Colin Furze is embarking on one of his biggest projects yet, and as viewers flock to his channel, his sponsors are reaping the benefits. Furze, in his own words, describes his YouTube channel as a home for “crazy inventions, brilliant world records and constant disregard to health and safety.” When you watch him try to build a secret underground tunnel in house (nearly damaging its foundations in the process) it’s easy to see what that disregard for safety looks like. Furze’s sponsor, Surfshark, also wants its users to do away with typical barriers. It showed up more than 20 times in this week’s Branded Video Report, so the YouTube audience is clearly clamoring to access geolocked content.

#2 We’re Giving Away $30 Million in Free Food

Channel: Beast Philanthropy
Brand: iBotta

For the second week in a row, Jimmy Donaldson’s Beast Philanthropy initiative has factored into our Branded Video Report. Last week, it served as the sponsor for a contentious well-building video set in Africa. Donaldson followed up that headline-grabber with a Beast Philanthropy video that introduces a $30 million effort to deliver food to those in need. This time, Donaldson brought in an external sponsor to help out his charitable efforts. IBotta got in the Thanksgiving spirit by sponsoring Beast Philanthropy and introducing a campaign of its own, which will see it deliver free turkeys to winning households.

#3 A cast saw on human skin
Channel: Steve Mould
Brand: Henson Shaving

For the second time in the past month, Steve Mould has made an appearance among the most-watched sponsored YouTube videos of the week. This time, the scientifically-inclined YouTuber pulled in 4.4 million views in just two weeks by taking a page out of the Slow Mo Guys‘ book: He used a high-speed camera to show viewers how a cast saw looks when it cuts into Plaster of Paris. Mould’s sponsor, Henson Shaving, is hoping that the video will inspire fans to seek out more high-quality engineering. It sells blades that are meant to last through many shaves.

#4 Elon Musk | Lex Fridman Podcast
Channel: Lex Fridman
Brands: LMNT, Eight Sleep, BetterHelp, Simplisafe, Shopify, and Netsuite

Like many podcasters, Lex Fridman doesn’t limit himself to a single brand partner per episode. For his 400th episode, the computer scientist landed a high-profile guest, and sponsors flocked to him like moths to a flame. Fridman’s chat with Elon Musk featured six different spots across its two-hour runtime. Musk’s appearances on podcasts tend to drive millions of views, and that’s good news for Fridman and his sponsors. His long-form convo with the X head honcho has already pulled in more than four million views and counting.

BONUS: #214 Economics Is The Deadliest Science
Channel: Economics Explained
Brand: BetterHelp

In a recent video, Economics Explained unpacked a term that is sometimes applied to the study of economics. That field is known as “the dismal science,” and if you watch this video, you’ll understand why. To support its dismal business, Economics Explained turned to a company that also served as one of Lex Fridman’s six sponsors. BetterHelp makes sense as a sponsor for a video like this, since a few therapy sessions can help anyone feel better about the harsh realities of economics (we hope.) The digital counseling service is all over our latest Branded Video Report, appearing 46 times across the top 1,700 videos in the ranking.

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…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.