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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Between the reported perilous production of Beast Games, sexual misconduct allegations against one prominent on-camera talent, and investigations into Jimmy Donaldson‘s past videos, it’s been a trying week at MrBeast HQ. Donaldson’s media company has taken so much heat that the North Carolina-based creator has initiated an internal investigation, but not even those criticisms can slow down the MrBeast machine. Donaldson and his crew are still producing YouTube’s most popular sponsored video, and this week’s edition of the Weekly Brand Report is the latest piece of proof.
#1 Survive 100 Days In Nuclear Bunker, Win $500,000
Channel: MrBeast
Brand: Monster Hunter Now
Views: 142,971,511
MrBeast’s latest stunt involves a fully-equipped nuclear bunker, where two contestants attempted to hide out for 100 days in order to claim Donaldson’s $500,000 prize. Given all the chaos that has engulfed the MrBeast brand over the past few weeks, I’m sure that Donaldson would have loved a chance to hunker down alongside his fans, but he had other work to do. Rather than teaming up with typical sponsor Samsung, Donaldson used his bunker video to promote Monster Hunter Now, the latest installment of a popular video game franchise. If MrBeast videos are rigged, as one disgruntled former employee claims, then the associated sponsors are probably not too concerned about the consistency of Donaldson’s end product.
#2 Tech Products That Should Not Exist
Channel: Danny Gonzalez
Brand: Pokémon Unite
Views: 5,749,202
MrBeast isn’t the only channel delivering millions of views on a clip sponsored by a video game franchise. Danny Gonzalez also worked his way toward the top of our ranking with a video that promotes the free-to-play, multiplayer online title Pokémon Unite. Gonzalez stumped for the battler with a video that details some tech products that don’t offer too much utility. A long-form takedown of frivolous products may seem like a strange canvas for a YouTube sponsorship, since the backer could theoretically be satirized in the video itself. Luckily for Pokémon, the esteemed franchise provides enough fun to avoid Gonzalez’s comedic crosshairs.
#3 $5 vs $50 Handheld Fan!
Channel: Mrwhosetheboss
Brand: JisuLife
Views:4,073,425
The most-watched sponsored YouTube Shorts video of the week comes from tech reviewer Mrwhosetheboss (real name Arun Maini), and let me be the first one to tell you: This video blows. I mean that in the completely literal sense, since Maini used his credibility to offer some honest opinions about a pair of handheld fans. The more expensive of the two products comes from the video’s sponsor JisuLife, which took a tactical approach to creator marketing. Of course a high-tech handheld fan is going to look cool next to a bargain bin option that costs one-tenth as much. JisuLife likely expected that outcome from the outset of the partnership, though Maini did offer positive words about both fans he reviewed. His fans (the other kind) appreciate his candor.
#4 “Unschooling” on TikTok
Channel: Chad Chad
Brand: Opera
Views:2,841,308
For regular readers of this column, an appearance from Opera comes as no surprise. The web browser has emerged as a reliable sponsor of YouTube’s biggest creators, and one of its latest team-ups is a partnership with cultural commentator Chad Chad. The creator with the double-speak name showed up in this column before when she joined forces with a purveyor of sex toys, but her Opera-backed clip is a bit different from that one. This time, Chad Chad is taking on the bizarre TikTok trend known as “unschooling,” in which parents brag about homeschooling their kids with no clear curriculum. I guess the only way that approach could be beneficial is if the child in question had access to a souped-up web browser like Opera. That way, they could make the internet into the teacher their parents chose not to be.
BONUS #1,646 WHAT INSANITY IS HAPPENING AT JACKSON GUITARS RIGHT NOW??
Channel: Agufish
Brand: 1 Shot Energy
Views: 30,017
As a devotee of Davie5o4 and Juliaplaysgroove, I have more affinity with YouTube’s bass-playing community than its guitarists. But if I were to watch one weekly mailbag series on all things guitar, it would be the one hosted by Agufish, who uses his YouTube channel to discuss the pros and cons of guitar brands like Ibanez, Jackson, and Yamaha. Agufish’s latest mailbag is sponsored by the self-explanatory product known as 1 Shot Energy. My hope is that if I chug enough of those energy shots, I can maintain the focus I need to tackle complex rhythms as smoothly as Agufish does. But since I’ve never played electric guitar in my life, I may need a little more practice (and a lot more energy boosters) before I’m ready for that challenge.
…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.
