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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Now that the election is over and the holidays are calming down (at least in the lull before the next big holiday), our Gospel Stats Weekly Brand Report is back to a genre grab-bag, with science creators on top, Gordon Ramsay whipping up a Twister meal, Marques Brownlee flexing his spot as Chief Creative Officer at Ridge, and Drew Gooden doing a deep dive into the world of online gambling.
Check it all out right here:
#1 Vaping Is Too Good To Be True
Channel: Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell
Brand: Ground News
Views: 4,502,184
We just gotta say it: Science creators are some of the most popular on YouTube, with channels like Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell, Veritasium, and NileRed/NileBlue regularly topping our Weekly Brand Reports. It’s clear there’s an audience online that’s hungry to learn how our world works, from physics to chemistry to mathematics, and (not to get too twee) that gives us hope for the future. In this week’s #1 vid, Kurzgesagt takes a look at vaping, which has grown more and more popular, especially with The Youths. But is it really the less-bad-for-you alternative to smoking it claims to be? That’s what Kurzgesagt wants to know–and his exploration is sponsored by frequent YouTuber collaborator Ground News, which also sponsored more than 50 other videos this week.
#2 The Physics That Could Have Saved Amelia Earhart
Channel: Veritasium
Brand: KiwiCo
Views: 4,423,650
Speaking of physics, Veritasium is #2 this week, and he says Amelia Earhart‘s disappearance is not that mysterious after all. The famed aviation pioneer went missing in 1937 during an attempt to circumnavigate the world in her Lockheed Model 10E Electra airplane. Many experts conclude she simply ran out of fuel and crashed into the Pacific–but, of course, conspiracy theories abound. Veritasium doesn’t think there’s a conspiracy; he thinks there’s a scientific explanation for all this, and that if things had been just a little different, Earhart might have survived. His 40-minute look at her final flight is sponsored by kids’ STEM/art subscription company KiwiCo.
#3 Gordon Ramsay Teaches Matthew McConaughey How to Make the Ultimate Steak & Eggs
Channel: Gordon Ramsay
Brand: HexClad
Views: 4,099,616
For anyone who ever desperately wanted a bite of Aunt Meg’s famous steak and eggs while watching Twister, this is your video. Chef Gordon Ramsay–who’s famous for his TV shows but really knows how to work the internet–has more than 21 million subscribers on YouTube, and this week he welcomed actor Matthew McConaughey for a cooking lesson. But it’s more than that: while the two whip up their dish (with some Pantalones Tequila thrown in), they chat, and McConaughey spends his time spotlighting the just keep livin Foundation, which he and wife Camila founded in 2023. Through the initiative, they plan to work with schools to help them apply for federal funding, and have so far helped establish after school programs that give kids places to go when class is over. The video is sponsored–appropriately–by cookware brand HexClad.
#4 An Honest Review of Apple Intelligence… So Far
Channel: Marques Brownlee
Brand: Ridge
Views: 3,753,317
Marques Brownlee is in hot water after uploading a clip that showed him driving a Lamborghini at 95 miles per hour in a 35 zone–and the comments on this sponsored video are full of backlash. But that doesn’t change how many views it’s gotten: enough to put it at spot #4, and get 3.7 million eyeballs on Ridge, the wallet company where Brownlee is Chief Creative Partner (and an investor). Ridge has involved YouTubers in its marketing for years, but brought Brownlee on this past February and has since doubled down on sponsorships. It paid for nearly 40 videos this week, making it one of the platform’s most prolific sponsors.
BONUS #8 The Online Gambling Epidemic
Channel: Drew Gooden
Brand: Displate
Views: 3,664,576
We usually pick a bonus video from further down in the list, but Drew Gooden‘s coverage of online gambling was too good to pass up. His 28-minute video takes his usual dry, comedic approach and applies it to the seemingly ever-growing prevalence of crypto gambling sites like Stake, as well as the proliferation of daily fantasy sports. Gooden has (self-admitted!) terrible luck at gambling, and shows viewers several times just how quickly money can evaporate, even when sites promise signup bonuses or loss compensation. He also talks about the streamers who are taking multimillion-dollar deals to advertise gamba to their viewers, and the sports leagues who once disavowed wagering, but now have massive sponsorships with companies like DraftKings and FanDuel. It’s worth a watch.
…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.
