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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There’s always a lull in the digital ads biz after the big splash of Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the following week or two. But when it comes to YouTube sponsorships, creators didn’t seem to be having an uneventful Christmas, with spots from brands laser-targeting audiences they know will be interested in their products…and might have a little gift cash to spend.
Check out our top 5 right here:
#1 Don’t Drink The Spicy Mustard
Channel: MrBeast 2
Brand: Feastables
Views: 27,561,868
If you watch MrBeast, chances are you’re going to be at least a smidge more tempted to put a Feastables bar on the belt next time you’re in the grocery store. Feastables did a lot of work leading into the holidays, sponsoring at least one MrBeast video per week and launching a new product–the Hot Cocoa Crunch bar–to tempt those stocking-stuffer sales.
Continuing that trend and perhaps in anticipation of those with a resolution to get #swole this year, the marketing shifted back to Feastables’ first foray into the land of liquids: the brand’s chocolate milk and its 23 grams of protein per bottle. With a 14-oz bottle, that’s almost double the protein of an average milk (1 gram of protein per 1-oz serving). Swole time.
#2 My Daughter Survives WORLD’S TINIEST CAR
Channel: Jordan Matter
Brand: Sephora
Views: 11,688,939
Salish Matter is 16 years old–and all American teenagers know what that magic number means. Welcome to the DMV, kids!
This video is classic modern YouTube: long time + small space + challenges = prize. For Salish, the prize–if she can make it a full day without setting foot outside a tiny car–is the car itself. We’re guessing her dad/channel runner Jordan Matter is relieved this car’s engine is tiny, too. No hot rods here.
Like several other Matter videos in the past few months, this one is sponsored by Sephora, the cosmetics shop that partnered with Salish to launch her line Sincerely Yours. Like we mentioned above, Sephora is laser-targeting here, reaching out to Salish’s makeup-hungry tween/teen girl audience. It was probably a better choice of sponsor than a car brand…but we wouldn’t be surprised if some dealerships reach out to the Matters in the coming months.
#3 Joe Rogan Experience #2431 – Shane Gillis
Channel: PowerfulJRE
Brand: Perplexity, Athletic Greens
Views: 4,817,637
New year, new you–but not new YouTube. If there’s one thing we can count on–at least for the foreseeable future–it’s that podcasts will have a significant presence in our Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Reports. And since Joe Rogan is still consistently at the top of YouTube’s podcast charts, it’s inevitable that he’ll also be here.
This week’s episode brings back frequent guest Shane Gillis for a low-key chat about life–which, according to commenters, didn’t quite gel as expected. “Shane talking about appreciating the fun in the regular dude, everyday life, mundane fun things and joe just not getting it killed me lmao,” one wrote. Another was more frank: “Joe does such a good job at sucking out whatever humor is being instilled into the conversation by Shane.”
Gel or no gel, this episode still racked up 4.8+ million views for its sponsors Perplexity and Athletic Greens. These are good audience matches, too: AI answer engine Perplexity will please the tech bros, and Athletic Greens goes after the health-conscious folks who follow in Rogan’s supplement-heavy footsteps.
#4 Fully Mechanical Writing System – Prototype
Channel: Engineezy
Brand: SolidWorks
Views: 4,477,721
Back in the 1800s, you had to pay some guy a penny to come knock on your window and wake you up for work.
Now it’s the 21st century and we have a clock that can use its articulated arms to write the time for you. Technology, huh?
Or, well, we should say almost have, because this build from Engineezy is a prototype, and he’s still working out the kinks thanks to tools from sponsor SolidWorks, a project development platform. Those tools let Engineezy test his clock digitally, using a virtual camera to record the arms’ motions and turn those motions into equations, then 3D print the whole kit together.
This video is a prime example of audience targeting. Just one look at Engineezy’s comments section will tell you he’s followed by lots of engineering and printing enthusiasts who might be inclined to make SolidWorks the foundation for their next projects.
BONUS #1,569 Dokis Survive a Haunted House👻(DDLC Voiced Animation)
Channel: Querxes
Brand: ZenMarket
Views: 61,583
For this week’s bonus video, we rolled a random number generator. Look, sometimes you gotta invoke the spirit of 2005 YouTube, when you never knew what you’d find.
Our result was a delightfully early 2000s-feeling video, where a bunch of passionate people got together to group write, animate, and voice-act a fan video for visual novel game Doki Doki Literature Club! Without being too spoilery, the plot follows four of the game’s characters on a road trip that ends up being a little less easy breezy summer fun and a little more Phasmophobia.
The gang’s sponsor is ZenMarket, a digital marketplace selling Japanese products. Fitting, since Doki Doki Literature Club!, while an English-language production, follows the flamboyant style and conventions of Japanese high school anime. Shop on, weebs.
…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.
