Top 5 Branded Videos of the Week: YouTube uses sponsorship to show off Shopping features

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.

We saw a nice variety of sponsorships on YouTube during the final week of April. Some brands are continuing to work with the biggest names on YouTube (and one big name in particular) while others are taking more methodical approaches and finding the right creator partners for their specific campaign goals. The results from the latest Weekly Brand Report show that both of those strategies can be successful with the right partnership. The key is to choose the right voice and the right piece of content to get the message across.

#1 10 Minutes To Escape Or This Room Explodes!
Channel: MrBeast
Brand: T-Mobile

MrBeast uploaded the most-watched sponsored video on YouTube two weeks in a row. After supporting Samsung with a clip that features contestants of all ages, the man born Jimmy Donaldson teamed up with T-Mobile for a classic “trapped in a dangerous situation” MrBeast romp. I guess Donaldson has a thing for partnerships with telecom companies. The continued success of his branded content helps us understand why he is splitting from his management team. He has become a massively valuable entity all on his own, no matter who he works with.

#2 Thor’s hammer cooked in fire salt…
Channel: Max the Meat Guy
Brand: YouTube

The highest-ranking non-MrBeast video in the latest Weekly Brand Report features an intriguing pairing between a top creator and a top platform. YouTube joined forces with carnivore Max the Meat Guy for a promotion that shows off some of the Google-owned hub’s shoppable features. Max’s viewers can get a discount on items from his jerky brand so long as they engage with the shoppable links in the associated video. That’s some pretty cool synergy, though I’m more interested in the spicy cut of beef Max cooks up in the sponsored clip.

#3 ROLLS ROYCE HELP ME REBUILD MARCUS RASHFORDS WRAITH
Channel: Mat Armstrong
Brand: carVertical

Remember when Mat Armstrong bought Marcus Rashford‘s smashed-up sportscar and began rebuilding it in a viral video? Well, there have since been a few more twists in that tale. Armstrong is still in possession of the Rolls Royce once owned by the Manchester United and England national team star, and he’s getting some refurbishment help from Rolls Royce itself. He connects with the luxury carmaker in the latest installment of his Rashford saga, which — as per usual — features a sponsorship from his regular partner carVertical.

#4 We Put a $50,000 Engine in our $500 Ranger
Channel: Donut
Brand: Nissan

Mat Armstrong isn’t the only automotive creator who is working directly with a global automaker. Donut, which has long stood as one of YouTube’s most innovative car-focused media companies, is back with a unique partnership with Nissan. To promote the new 2024 Nissan Rogue, Donut put a big engine in an unassuming automobile. The results are as fun as longtime Donut viewers have come to expect, and the ad read itself isn’t too bad either. It even got a shoutout in one of the video’s most-liked comments.

BONUS #1,930 Visiting the World’s Whisky Capital | Campbeltown
Channel: Ruth Aisling
Brand: Rosetta Stone

You would expect Rosetta Stone to sponsor English-language videos that don’t take place in English-speaking countries, but that’s not an accurate description for Ruth Aisling‘s sponsored clip. The whisky enthusiast celebrated language-learning as she visited some quaint distilleries in Scotland. I’d love to see a Scottish brogue so thick that it requires Rosetta Stone translations, but as Aisling explains, she used the service to assist her trips to Japan’s distilleries. Nevertheless, if you study Gaelic through an app, you’ll learn the proper pronunciation of this creator’s last name: You say it like “ash-ling.”

…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.