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’s Gospel Stats report leads with three videos that are emblematic of modern YouTube. They have attention-grabbing premises, eye-catching thumbnails, and–for the first time in a while–are all long-form. Shorts does still have a foothold in this week’s list, but we definitely saw a return to long-form domination led by creators who’ve spent years perfecting the art of keeping viewers glued for hours.
Check ’em all out right here:
#1 100 Kids Vs World’s Strongest Man!
Channel: MrBeast
Brand: Feastables, Costco
Views: 97,818,743
Yet again, MrBeast comes in first–but this time, Feastables isn’t his only sponsor.
Well, sort of. He’s sponsored by the duo of Feastables and Costco, which just partnered with Feastables to launch a Halloween-timed minis variety bag. We’re not at all surprised to see this team-up timed for this holiday. As we’ve written before, Feastables has spent the past few months banging out new product after new product, and while minis aren’t new, getting high-profile placement in Costco is no doubt going to help pad the tens of millions of dollars Feastables already pulls in.
As for the video, it’s typical MrBeast fare, with the main plot pitting a large crowd of kiddos against one very jacked gentleman. Other stunts are interspersed, drawing the video out to a solid 27 minutes. So far it’s racked up ~97 million views, which is under the viewcount of other MrBeast videos we’ve seen take spot #1–but still far ahead of any competitors.
#2 Uncovering America’s Underwater City
Channel: Mark Rober
Brand: CrunchLabs
Views: 12,423,636
We don’t often get personal in these posts–we are journalists, after all–but I will divulge here that Gold Country history is one of my lifelong passions, and that I live smack in the middle of the territory where people once thought they’d find their fortunes. While the Sierra Nevada Mountains and their foothills are full of history most people are at least passingly familiar with, it’s rare to see them get a YouTube spotlight–but that’s just what Mark Rober does this week.
He heads to Folsom Lake, which was once the site of Mormon Island, a town populated by people seeking ‘the color.’ Mormons made up a large contingent of the early Gold Rush seekers, and those who lived on Mormon Island came from Sutter’s Fort, which is in modern-day Sacramento (and is not to be confused with Sutter’s Mill, which is in Coloma and was the first place where gold was found in California). After its founding in 1848, Mormon Island grew to a full-fledged town with multiple hotels, general stores, and a postal office, with 2,500+ residents at its peak.
Then, in 1856, the town was destroyed by a fire, and was subsequently abandoned by most. A few people remained until the mid 20th century, when the Folsom Dam Project flooded Mormon Island and surrounding areas to create the lake we now see today (though you can sometimes still glimpse Mormon Island when the droughts are bad).
In this video, Rober–sponsored by his STEM subscription kit company CrunchLabs–heads to that very lake with sophisticated equipment that shows us Mormon Island isn’t entirely gone. It’s still down there, preserved in time.
#3 I Tried Every Room on the Most Expensive Cruise
Channel: Ryan Trahan
Brand: Shopify
Views: 9,661,252
Oh, you thought Ryan Trahan was done traveling after he and wife Haley Pham spent nearly two months filming themselves Airbnbing across the entire United States? Well, think again. While he and Haley did take a short break after their lengthy series, they got right back out there, booking an extremely expensive cruise on Royal Caribbean’s freshly debuted top-level ship, Star of the Seas. But Trahan has a mission besides checking out the new beauty: Pham got her first book deal, and has been denying him the privilege of reading her manuscript, since he never finishes books. His plan? Steal the book, read it during the cruise, and present her with his review at the end.
No spoilers–but we will note this video is sponsored by longtime Trahan partner Shopify, which clocked in with over 30 paid-for videos this week.
#4 The next viral chocolate is here: ÜLKER ÇİKOLATA İSTANBUL
Channel: pattyplates
Brand: Ülker
Views: 8,969,214
pattyplates‘ message with this one is pretty clear: Move over, Dubai chocolate. There’s a new Turkish treat in town. This Canadian cheftuber was born to Chinese parents (“my father was a Guangzhou city boy, and my mom a village girl from Toisan,” he says) and has brought in ~140,000 subscribers by making food from all sorts of cultures.
For our first and only Short of the week, pattyplates is sponsored by Turkish confection brand Ülker, which sent him its Istanbul chocolate. Like Dubai chocolate, this bar is filled with kadayif, aka shredded phyllo dough, but it has hazelnut instead of pistachio.
While pattyplates’ video is an effective ad for Ülker’s sweet–just look at those cross-sections…-it’s not the only one. Ülker is clearly going wide with its Dubai chocolate challenge, because it sponsored two other videos this week: #22, from Junpei Zaki, and #24, from Chloe Dillon. All three videos share a common storyline, where the sponsored creators have just somehow managed to find the brand responsible for a mysterious new viral chocolate.
BONUS #11 Jamie Oliver DESTROY FRIED RICE AGAIN
Channel: mrnigelng
Brand: ExpressVPN
Views: 3,426,215
Look, I know I just said last week that we like to end our Weekly Brand Reports with lightheartedness…but as a longtime resident of YouTube’s robust culinary neighborhood, I couldn’t let this video go. Uncle Roger‘s takedowns of Jamie Oliver have been the stuff of legend, and unlike Gordon Ramsay, Oliver has apparently learned nothing. His newest recipe is “Korean fried rice,” made with American barbecue sauce and basmati rice. Unwashed, boxed Uncle Ben basmati rice.
Our good uncle (who’s sponsored by prolific YouTuber partner ExpressVPN) is understandably horrified. We’ll save the big jabs for him, but will simply say: If you love yourself, buy a nice rice cooker, make three cups of rice, let it cool in the fridge for a day, then oil up a pan. Ginger, garlic, a little gochujang, a little soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, egg, green onions, and of course a few pinches of the flavor king, MSG. You’re welcome.
…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.
