The YouTube Top 10 Brands - Part II

In our previous post we began our countdown of the top 10 brands in terms of how their reputation is influenced by YouTube. Here is the second part of the Custom Communication You Tube Top 10 Brands countdown.

5, UNILEVER (803 videos)

"Dove Evolution" - Viewed 6,727,556 times (2,426 comments)

Dove created a splash throughout the cosmetics industry in October, 2006 with its daring "evolution" advert, revealing the dirty little secret about glamour ads: the end product -- in this case a model's face blown up to billboard size -- is a polished piece of fiction. It was created to promote a worthwhile Unilever initiative: the Dove Real Beauty Workshop for Girls, an effort to destroy some of the destructive myths of the trade that plague young, figure-obsessed girls. Follow-up adverts by Unilever and its agency, Ogilvy, tackled the same theme, triggering a viral branding phenomenon: "the evolution" (followed by "the onslaught") advert have attracted over 10 million viewers and triggered over 5,000 comments. But Dove's best intentions drew the wrong kind of attention too. There is now a whole sub-genre of parody "evolution" and "onslaught" videos on YouTube, featuring the mutilation of French models, the gorging of some poor pathetic bloke and the disfiguration of a pumpkin, to name but three. Those are somewhat harmless. Greenpeace, however, used the same theme music and quick-cut montage from the originals to create "Dove Onslaught(er)" (243,000 views in just eight days) to alert viewers of the impact of Dove's sourcing of palm oil from firms that are allegedly clear-cutting the rain forests to get at it.

Impact on Reputation: - 6 (Has Unilever been hoist by its own viral video petard?)

4, COCA-COLA (95,700 videos in total)

"Diet Coke+Mentos=Human experiment: EXTREME GRAPHIC CONTENT" - Viewed 8,583,526 times, 13,659 comments.

There are now 12 different video variations with over one million views on the exploding Diet Coke and Mentos YouTube meme made famous by Eeepybird. This graphic spoof shows a guy chewing a pack of Mentos and then swigging Diet Coke with disastrous, dark comic effects. At the time Diet Coke wasn't that impressed. "We would hope people want to drink [Diet Coke] more than try experiments with it..[this] craziness with Mentos ... doesn't fit with the brand personality" a Coke spokesman told the Wall Street Journal. Mentos were much happier. "We are tickled pink by it," said the company adding the value of online buzz was worth "over $10 million."



Impact on Reputation: +5 (One year on, Coca Cola gets it. "The biggest takeaway [from the Diet Coke-Mentos video] was consumers own our brands," says Carol Kruse, vp of global interactive marketing at Coke. Today the company is joining the social media conversation.)

3, MCDONALDS (43,700 videos in total)

"Fast Food Freestyle" - Viewed 11,744,399 times. 15,279 comments

The top viewed video when you simply search "McDonalds" is a goofy rap homage to the brand - "Supersize Me" said he's had enough of it, But how is it bad for my heart if I'm in love with it?" - that's been viewed 3,110,588 times. But that offering can't compete with this all-time McDonalds' rap video where a group of friends try to order a very happy meal through rhyme at a drive-through window.   



Impact on Reputation: +9 (If only because it pushes "McDonalds Manager Forces Teen To Give Blowjob" [1,170,979 views] further down the page.)

2, PEPSI (31,800 videos in total)

"PEPSI (Britney Spears, Beyonce, Pink - We Will Rock You)" - Viewed 14,050,586 times, 17,000 comments

Britney, Beyonce and Pink in skimpy gladiator costumes singing the Queen hit was a hugely successful TV ad well before it was recorded and added to YouTube (not by Pepsi we should add). Then it took on a life of its own.



Impact on Reputation: +8 (YouTube might be the channel of the people but celebrity content still rules even if you might have seen it on TV before.)

1, NIKE (50,600 videos in total)

"Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold" - Viewed 22,581,372 times, 15,152 comments

The Brazilian footballing great receives a new set of boots and then puts on a ball control masterclass in this handheld "home movie" style viral video produced by Nike and uploaded to YouTube on Nike Soccer's own channel.

Impact on Reputation: +10 (This sleight of foot video was produced for and distributed only on YouTube. In fact it's the only "corporate commercial" in the top 100 most-viewed YouTube videos. Its success lies in the fact that it actually feels like a YouTube video. A good example of a company understanding its audience.)