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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For the first time in 2024, MrBeast is not at the top of our Weekly Brand Report. Instead, our #1 video is straight out of Tenet, we have one sponsor snagging both the #1 and #2 videos, the Kelce brothers’ podcast is still bringing in the views, Fortnite is becoming bigger than ever, and boy do people love digging holes.
Check out our top five picks right here:
#1 Did The Future Already Happen? – The Paradox of Time
Channel: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Brand: Brilliant
This week’s #1 comes from the studio Kurzgesagt, whose “in a nutshell” animated videos explain things about our existence and our universe with “optimistic nihilism.” Did the Future Already Happen? is Kurzgesagt’s first video of the year, and dives into the paradox of time and space and whether our future is already written and edited–without us even knowing. It is (appropriately) sponsored by educational brand Brilliant, which offers guided digital courses in a variety of subjects. Brilliant also sponsored the #2 video of this week, which is…
#2 Making American cheese to debunk a conspiracy
Channel: NileBlue
Brand: Brilliant
Ever had anyone flap a slice of Kraft American at you to illustrate how plasticky it looks? Yes? No? Either way, for years products like Kraft Singles and Velveeta blocks have been accused of being a little less than real cheese. In this video, science YouTuber NileBlue takes a look at what he (jokingly) calls the “shady underground world of processed cheese” to find out whether or not all those childhood ham and cheese sandwiches and boxed mac and cheese were really turning us all into plastic-eaters. His and Kurzgesagt’s videos are two of the 16 Brilliant sponsored this week, with more from creators like Josh Rundle, Inheritance Machining, and BPS.space.
#3 My First UNREAL Win!
Channel: LazarBeam
Brand: air up
Fortnite has gotten some serious competition in the battle royale space over the last few years, but it still remains one of the world’s top-played games. And this week’s #3 video is from one of Fortnite‘s top longtime players, LazarBeam. As a former pro Fortnite player, LazarBeam has skills–but he didn’t use any of them the first time he achieved Unreal, the highest possible title in Fortnite‘s ranked division. Instead, he loaded into matches and stayed perfectly still. No picking up weapons, no shooting other players, no moving at all. But after getting Unreal by those means, he wanted to try actually competing, so in this video he plays ranked until he gets his first combat-earned win in an Unreal lobby. This endeavor is sponsored by flavored water bottle brand air up, which also sponsored 11 other videos this week.
#4 Travis Goes Back to the Super Bowl, Jason on New Eagles Coaches & The Legacy of NFL Blitz | Ep 76
Channel: New Heights
Brand: Experian, PrizePicks, Buffalo Wild Wings, Accelerator Active Energy, SeatGeek, Etsy
The Kelce boys remain in our top 5 with their weekly podcast New Heights, which–as we covered last week–saw a significant spike in viewership after Travis Kelce began dating Taylor Swift. Travis and his team took Super Bowl LVIII last night, but since this edition of our Weekly Brand Report features videos from last week, you can very likely expect to see the brothers cover his experience at the game during their next episode–an episode we’re almost certain will end up once again in our top 5. The above episode features Travis and Jason talking about Travis’s Super Bowl prep, brought to listeners by the podcast’s usual long lineup of sponsors: Experian, PrizePicks, Buffalo Wild Wings, Accelerator Active Energy, SeatGeek, and Etsy.
#5 Secret Garage/Tunnel Update #6 FLOODED!!
Channel: 2 Much ColinFurze
Brand: Insta360
We usually do a bonus video down here, but this week’s #5 video was too timely not to include. As you may have noticed, there’s been a lot of news about holes recently. People digging holes (usually illegally), people memorializing holes, and people developing entire ecosystems in holes. Well, as it turns out, YouTube is not immune to the natural human enjoyment of “stick shovel in ground.” On his second channel, inventor and stuntman Colin Furze is documenting the process of building a secret tunnel to the underground bunker he already constructed in his back garden. The installment that made top 5 this week shows him battling issues with flooding while staying optimistic that the bunker is starting to “feel like a room now rather than a steel box.”
…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.
