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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This week goes to the Shorts, with short-form clips taking spots #1 and #2–and racking up some serious views along the way. Then we’ve got a gang of long-forms, with the goal-scoring Futcrunch, Linus Tech Tips exploring a Taipei tech mall, and our bonus, a fine art restorer whose deft hand returns a grinning lady to her full glory.
#1 Why Don’t Ice Rinks Melt?
Channel: Mark Rober
Brand: Eight Sleep
If you didn’t get the chance to catch Mark Rober and CrunchLabs‘ cool exhibit at the recent Open Sauce creator/nerd convention–we’ll be writing more on that soon–you can keep up with their latest antics in this week’s #1 branded video, where Rober enters CrunchLabs HQ to explore the science that keeps ice rinks from becoming puddles. Unlike the vast majority of top videos on our Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Reports, this one is a Short, coming in at just under 60 seconds. And that seems to have boosted its views, because while most videos (MrBeast excepted) on the list tend to generate < 8 million views, this one has over 14 million. That’s a lot of eyeballs for its sponsor Eight Sleep, which also sponsored video #879, an episode of the David Pakman Show.
#2 Make Blocks Fun Again
Channel: Dude Dans
Brand: Block Blast
Animator Dude Dans has racked up over 7 million subscribers in two years with his short animated videos, so it’s not too surprising his collab with mobile game Block Blast is also animated. Hand-drawn in Inkscape, this 27-second video is reminiscent of Toy Story‘s heart-tugging, following a green block whose boy grows up and leaves him behind for the dreaded cell phone. But then, when the guy downloads Block Blast, Green Block is able to reconnect with him in the digital world. Mobile games are a big sponsor across all platforms (we know you’ve seen the Raid: Shadow Legends memes), and Block Blast is making a name for itself this week by sponsoring Dans’ Short–which brought in 15 million views–as well as video #107 from Joe Caine.
#3 Where the Ball Lands, You Get!
Channel: Futcrunch
Brand: Top Eleven
Ah, Futcrunch. This soccer-focused (sorry, we’re American) channel is a frequent goal-scorer on our Weekly Branded Reports, and, in our opinion, one of YouTube‘s creators to watch. They’ve grown their viewership substantially this year, from 47 million views in January of this year to nearly 84 million last month–the channel’s best month ever. In this 23-minute video, the Futcrunch gang square off in a series of games, beginning with a soccerified version of shuffleboard. Their sponsor? Top Eleven, a soccer manager simulator that promises to let players “take your club from dust to glory.”
#4 I Bought a $5000 PC in a Random Asian Tech Mall
Channel: Linus Tech Tips
Brand: Vessi
Linus Tech Tips‘ recent controversy doesn’t seem to have put too much of a dent in his views. In this week’s video, he (courtesy of waterproof shoe brand Vessi) journeys to Taiwan to explore Guang Hua Digital Plaza, a six-story wonderland of technology in Taipei. He wanders around the mall chatting with shopkeepers and eventually ends up with a $5,000 PC–which he then gives away to a fan who recognizes him on the street. Vessi also sponsored five other videos this week: #68 from Phil DeFranco, #611 from Eck, #775 from Ryan Hollinger, #913 from Rob Talks Hockey, and #1,548 from JomezPro.
BONUS #305 Oil Painting Facial Reconstruction – Lifting The Veil
Channel: Baumgartner Restoration
Brand: Squarespace
Our bonus this week comes from Julian Baumgartner, a Chicago-based, second-generation fine art restorer who’s racked up 1.8 million subscribers by sharing his work on YouTube. This video, like the rest of Baumgartner’s uploads, features him sharing his wealth of knowledge about restoration methods while he works on an actual piece–in this case, an oil painting picked up by his client’s grandparents in the 1950s or ’60s, and then left to rot in a farm outbuilding. The painting is in extremely rough shape, but Baumgartner (backed by Squarespace) takes a deft and patient hand to it and returns its smiling subject to her full glory.
…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.
