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. You can also download our YouTube 2025 Sponsorship Landscape Report here.
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Let us take you back to 2012 for a moment. 1-800-CONTACTS was really on to something, man.
This week’s Gospel Stats Brand Report leads with two self-sponsored videos–by which we mean creators using their videos to promote their own companies. You probably won’t be surprised at who those YouTubers are, or their staggering view counts. As for the rest of this week, you’ll have to read below to find out…
#1 Tasting Expensive Chocolates From Around The World
Channel: MrBeast 2
Brand: Feastables
Views: 31,276,275
Much of MrBeast‘s early Feastables branding pitted his brand against the established king of cheap chocolate, Hershey’s. And, look, we respect the decades-long Halloween staple, but its signature taste is divisive to say the least, so the bar was pretty low. Which left the Feastables team with an interesting proposal: What would happen if their chocolate was challenged by S-tier stuff?
$100, $400, all the way up to over $600–that’s how much MrBeast HQ paid for the boxes of chocolate involved in this taste test. As is the case with some MrBeast 2 videos, this one isn’t hosted by the man himself. Instead, it’s longtime friends Nolan and Karl doing the snacking. They unwrap massive boxes of expensive truffles, and while they proclaim some “taste like nothing,” the last (and most expensive) chocolate is deemed “objectively the best one so far.”
But, Karl points out in the Branded Moment™, “It’s still nowhere close to being as affordable as Feastables.”
Yup: the 90-second video is just one big ad to get the word out about Feastables’ Amazon Black Friday/Cyber Monday sale. And it apparently did its job, since it’s the #1 most viewed sponsored video on all of YouTube this week.
#2 Ronaldo vs My Unbeatable Goalie Robot
Channel: Mark Rober and Christiano
Brand: CrunchLabs
Views: 24,245,830
Hmmm…This video premise sounds just a little bit familiar.
Like MrBeast‘s take on the idea, Mark Rober‘s is tied to a promotion of his own company, CrunchLabs. But unlike MrBeast’s video, Rober’s involves a homemade robot instead of hired (metal) hands. Not exactly surprising, since Rober is a former NASA engineer and is used to making insane projects in his garage.
Rober, who’s played soccer almost his whole life, says he was inspired to invent his robotic goalie after being invited to play in the Sidemen‘s charity match. The game was streamed to millions of people, and Rober got to take a penalty kick in front of 90,000 live audience members. No pressure! Thankfully he sank the shot…but what if the goalkeeper had been Superman-speed instead of relying on normal human reflexes?
Obviously he had to investigate, and what better person to test out his new goaliebot than arguably the world’s top soccer player–and accomplished YouTuber—Christiano Ronaldo?
#3 Cozy Gaming Holiday Wish List #BestBuyPartner
Channel: Cozy K
Brand: Best Buy
Views: 10,809,075
We’re seeing it more and more: smaller creators getting deals from big brands, and then going on to rack up big views. This week’s edition of that is a 33-second video from Cozy K, who has 322,000 subscribers (def nothing to sneeze at, but often the creators who make top 5 have multiple millions of subs) and snagged a deal from Best Buy.
Like most sponsored Shorts, hers is entirely about her brand partner, and urges people to up their cozy gaming game with tech like the Nintendo Switch 2, fresh from Best Buy. While Cozy K’s video was the top performing for Best Buy, it wasn’t the brand’s only creator-made ad this week; at least 11 videos were sponsored by Best Buy, several of which also targeted tech-savvy gamers, urging them to level up their rigs, desks, and lighting. Holiday splurge-couragement is in full swing!
#4 When The Game Is TOO Realistic…
Channel: Dimucc
Brand: Kiehls
Views: 10,611,591
Speaking of gamers, Dimucc is in spot #4 with a partnership from cosmetics brand Kiehls. If you’re wondering how a makeup and skincare brand ties into gaming…well, you’d be surprised how much of gaming boils down to dressing up your characters and making sure their little houses look cool. But all that outfit-buying and furniture-arranging can take hours of real-life time, which means hours where gamers’ skin is getting, let’s be honest, a little crusty.
Dimucc’s take on this turns the whole thing into a skit where taking damage from a boss gives him “winter dry skin debuffs.”
“Luckily Kiehl’s Hydration All The Way Set is basically a full HP restore! (plus it’s a great gift for your mom!)” he adds. Awww.
BONUS #1,027 Critical Role’s New Show Is INCREDIBLE | The Mighty Nein Reaction
Channel: Danny Motta
Brand: FlexiSpot
Views: 140,027
Over the last few years, Critical Role has become a major force of internet culture, driving massively renewed interest in tabletop gaming–and, thanks to a deal with Amazon and production studio Titmouse, adult animation. With the animated adaptation of their first campaign The Legend of Vox Machina still underway and slated for five seasons, Critical Role now has another show out, this one following its much-lauded second campaign.
The Mighty Nein dropped a surprise YouTube premiere of its first episode early last month before premiering on Amazon Prime Video Nov. 19. Since then, fans have weighed in–and Danny Motta, for one, is thrilled. This pro reviewer is all in on covering top animated series, from ND Stevenson‘s adaptation of She-Ra to uberhit The Amazing Digital Circus.
Now, sponsored by furniture company FlexiSpot, he’s got his eye on The Mighty Nein. And he likes what he sees.
…and there’s a lot more data where that came from. If you like our Weekly Top 5, you’ll love everything else Gospel has to offer. Start with our newly released YouTube 2025 Sponsorship Landscape Report, which you can download right here.
