Top Five Music Videos With Brand Exposure

Alexa Mancilla | January 11, 2022 at 8:00 AM

The Three Minute Story

Music is something that unites everyone around the world; it is a universal language. Perhaps that is why brands have begun to partner with artists to help enhance and develop the story line within their music video. Not only are companies helping the artist, but they are also able to gain valuable exposure to millions of people in a three minute storyline.

The past year (and a little longer) three top brands (Apple, Nike, and Fortnite) have all partnered with artists to help develop the story line of their music video while at the same time promoting their brand. In this blog, Hollywood Branded discusses the top five music videos with brand exposure.

Apple x Selena Gomez

On October 22, 2019, Selena Gomez released her music video for her hit song, “Lose You To Love Me.” This highly anticipated video has over 322 million views on YouTube. But, why? This song tells Selena’s personal story about her very public breakup with Justin Bieber. The song is about love, hate, acceptance, and self-motivation.

Apple partnered with Selena Gomez to help tell her story and her side of the breakup. The whole music video was shot with Apple’s (then new) product, the iPhone 11 Pro. Apple wanted to showcase just how powerful and clear their new camera technology was. According to Esquire, the video was shot in 4K, at 60 frames-per-second, and used the phone’s regular sensor, wide-angle function, zoom lenses, and night mode. Gomez also helped promote apple by using ‘#ShotOniPhone’ when talking about the music video. Click here to see the promotional video that Apple posted on their accounts.

Selena Gomez, iPhone, Justin Bieber, Breakup

Nike x Drake

Those who love sports and music know that Drake is a huge sports fan. Whether it be cheering on his Toronto sports teams or in this case, shooting a music video at Nike’s World Headquarters, Drake always showcases his passion for athletics. Earlier this year, August 13 to be exact, Drake released a new single and music video for his song, “Laugh Now Cry Later.” What makes this video stand out is that the whole thing was shot at Nike’s headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon. Okayplayer said it perfectly, “Laugh Now Cry Later’ video is basically a Nike commercial.” The video takes the viewer through all aspects of the HQ; jet skiing on the lake, shooting hoops, throwing the football on the field, and even walking through a warehouse filled with Nike’s iconic orange shoe boxes. And that’s not all. The music video also has appearances from Kevin Durant, Marshawn Lynch, and Odell Beckham Jr. who are all Nike approved athletes (according to okayplayer) as well as talent wearing Nike-branded clothing.

Mercedes also made a cameo in the music video. At the beginning, Drake can be seen driving up to Nike’s World Headquarters in the car brand’s 20-foot Maybach concept car, the 6 Cabriolet.

To date, the video has over 192 million views.

Drake Nike Laugh Now Cry Later

Fortnite x Travis Scott

For those of you who do not know, Fortnite is a video game that has gained massive traction and users since its release in 2017. In fact, there are currently 350 million users of the game. But, Fortnite is more than just a game. Their website states, “it is a world of many experiences. Drop onto the Island and compete to be the last player… hang out with friends to catch a concert or a movie. Create a world of your own…”

Since COVID-19 shut down the entertainment industry, live concerts had to be cancelled for the time being, which left the entire music industry scrambling to find creative ways to engaged with fans. According to Variety, Travis Scott and Fortnite partnered to create an event called “Astronomical.” This “tour” was designed where fans from around the world were able to log-on to the Fortnite server to listen to the artist as well as hear his new single, “THE SCOTTS” featuring Kid Cudi. This 5-time event brought in a total of 28 million players.

Travis Scott Astroworld Astronomical THE SCOTTS

PS5 x Lil Nas X

While Lil Nas X has been making headlines for his controversial video for his. latest single, "Montero," it's safe to call the 21 year old rapper the king of product placement. Almost every one of his (record-breaking) videos has noticeable product placement, and his video for his Christmas song, "Holiday," is no exception. The video finds Lil Nas as an alternative Santa Claus, preparing for the upcoming Christmas season, which is the perfect setting for massive amounts of product placement. From PS5 to Jeep, it seemed like every brand who was launching new products for the holiday season got involved in this video!

Lil Nas X "Holiday" music video x PS5

Samsung x Ariana Grande

While Ariana Grande may be no stranger to product placement, the Samsung placement in her music video for "Focus" is the most apparent case of product placement for the pop princess. The space-themed video features the newest version of the Samsung Galaxy, where it is almost as big a star in the video as Ariana is. Throughout the video, Ariana showcases different features of the phone - from the touchscreen and stylus that are perfect for doodling or writing love notes, to the stunning camera quality. Although the product placement is in no way subtle, it served as an incredible commercial for the brand (the video has over 900 million views AND COUNTING!) - while cementing a strong partnership between Ariana and Samsung.

Music Videos = Exposure!

Partnering with an artist is a great marketing tool that allows a brand to gain millions of impressions – far more than perhaps what they could have gotten if they had not been in a music video. The brand’s name, image, and message goes way beyond the video itself. Artists will help promote your brand just by spreading the message about their new video on social media (like Selena Gomez and #ShotOnAiPhone), in stores, as well as on other channels connected to the artist.

Want to check out other blogs written by our team about the power of music and marketing? Check them out below: