The Week’s Best Branded Videos

By Josh Sternberg • October 22, 2012 •

Last week, Digiday introduced a series looking at the content brand’s create. Brand’s are now tapping into their reservoir of creative assets and distributing them across the Web, most notably with sight, sound and motion. The days of creating solely a 30- or 60-second TV spot for branding purposes have morphed into developing longer-form video content to live on the Internet.

If you see branded content that you think should be highlighted, link to it in the comment section or send me an email.

Brand: Coca-Cola
Date: Oct. 18
YouTube Views: 53,000
Content: “Unlock the 007 in you. You have 70 seconds!”
Why It Works: For the launch of the new James Bond film, Skyfall, Coke Zero gave away tickets to see the film but only after putting ticket-hopefuls (and presumably Bond lovers) through a Bond-esque gauntlet in a train station. The Coke Zero brand message — it’s just like the real thing, only with zero calories — is evident here, because in our minds, don’t we all think we’re like Bond, James Bond?

Brand: Red Bull
Date: Oct. 12
YouTube Views: 226,000
Content: “Wakeboarding the Basilica Palace – Istanbul 2012″
Why It Works: Red Bull brought two of the world’s best wakeboarders to the Basilica Palace in Istanbul to board in the 1,500-year-old building’s cistern. Red Bull is all about energy and, these days, high-quality content. This video combines both.

Brand: Adidas
Date: Oct. 7
YouTube Views: 310,000
Content: “All Originals Represent”
Why It Works: Some things go together like beat-boxing and soccer, right? Adidas thinks so in this video that plays to the global and cultural influence of the two.

Brand: Expedia
Date: Oct. 2
YouTube Views: 2.2 million
Content: “Find Your Understanding: Expedia Find Yours”
Why It Works: Expedia, not a brand you might think to take a stance on a social issue, tells the story of a father accepting the fact that his dream of his daughter marrying a man is insignificant to the dream of his daughter being happy. The company’s trying to “build some long-term brand messaging” towards the LGBT community, which according to Community Marketing, a research firm, is a $65 billion-per-year industry.

Brand: Orapup
Date: Oct.10
YouTube Views: 670,000
Content: “Dogs in Slow Motion”
Why It Works: Puppies! Pools! Slow motion! In this video, Orapup, a doggie-dental brand, shows dogs and their healthy canines chomping into a ball floating in the water. Is there any better branding than showing sparkling teeth in slow motion around an object? But, really, dogs in slowmo will just put a smile on your face.

And while there’s a Red Bull video above, how can we not include the biggest of them all? Last Sunday, Felix Baumgartner plummeted down to Earth from an astonishing 23 miles above the ground. There were more than 1,700 clips about the Red Bull Stratos event. Here is Red Bull’s Mission Highlights reel.

Brand: Red Bull
Date: Oct. 14
YouTube Views: 20.5 million
Content: “Felix Baumgartner’s Supersonic Freefall from 128k’ – Mission Highlights”