6 Unique Approaches to Branded Video Content

When you’re watching a piece of branded content, there’s a reason most of them end with a blue-chip logo. Producing a film for any brand involves many unknowns, the biggest of which is what it will actually do to benefit the company. As one of the riskiest forms of advertising, it helps to be holding all the cards when you go for it—especially if your project is as unique as these six examples.

Apple | 1984

https://www.youtube.com/embed/VtvjbmoDx-I?feature=oembedYou can’t really talk about branded content without talking about Apple’s?1984. This moody (and incredibly ’80s) short was groundbreaking at the time because it didn’t really showcase Apple’s product at all (read more about that?here). It's an excellent example of a young, hungry brand making the most of its moment with no concern for the consequences (legal or otherwise). Apple leaned on their values and brand identity to make it work—and it’s still paying off.

BMW | The Hire

https://www.youtube.com/embed/3O3sZFDBQJE?feature=oembedFast-forward a decade or two, and you’re at the dawn of the internet era. BMW saw an opportunity for a new medium and dove in headfirst with?The Hire, a series of short films released as an internet-only exclusive. Hiring the biggest names in the industry to produce these films, including?Clive Owen,?Ang Lee,?Guy Ritchie,?Madonna,?Forest Whitaker, and many more, the campaign took home awards at the?Clios,?The One Show, and even?Cannes.

Nike | Leave Nothing

https://player.vimeo.com/video/48107955?h=7e7a6184c7&dnt=1&app_id=122963While it’s a much smaller project than BMW’s, Nike’s?Leave Nothing?ad blurred the lines between branded content and advertising in one key way—the director. Nike wanted a battlefield-esque portrayal of the football field, almost like a scene from?The Last of the Mohicans. So, they hired the film's director: Michael Mann. And, because they thought outside the box to achieve their creative goals, they reinvented the medium at the same time.

Dove | Real Beauty Sketches

https://www.youtube.com/embed/litXW91UauE?feature=oembedDove was in a period of intense transition as a brand, and it was beginning to take ownership of its place in the market—both as a company that established unattainable beauty standards and a company that was trying to break them down.?This short film was the perfect way to plant their flag in a new era. Soap isn’t exactly the most moving of products, so the iconic (and some would say outdated, up to this point) brand redefined itself in an unforgettable way—to focus on values over products.

YETI | Sandbagging Jimmy Chin (And Pretty Much Everything Else)

https://www.youtube.com/embed/OOVGQdaToaE?feature=oembedSomeone at?YETI?had a hell of a lot of foresight a few years back—not to mention guts. On paper, it seems insane to pour countless amounts of time, energy, and money into creating a lifestyle brand around coolers. But they’ve done just that through?their branded content.?They’ve led with brand values and identity from the get-go, and it's been working time and again with short films like?Sandbagging Jimmy Chin?and dozens of others.

Red Bull |?The Art of Flight

https://www.youtube.com/embed/kh29_SERH0Y?feature=oembedIf YETI built its cooler empire on shared experience and values,?Red Bull?took an even bolder approach. The energy drink company has built its brand almost solely on aspirations, the fact that every little kid (and adult, probably) wants to grow up to be?Travis Rice—or any of the athletes on?The Art of Flight,?for that matter.?Ever since?it was released, drinking a Red Bull has been more of a statement than a choice.

This is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to unique branded content.?For more brilliant ad work, read about?Five Ads That Use Visual Effects to Tell Unforgettable Stories.