Each week, we’ll bring you the hottest new additions to the branded video universe. If people aren’t talking about them yet, they will be soon. So if you haven’t seen these branded videos, take a few minutes and catch up.
World-first Reverse April Fool’s Day Joke
BMW
Release Date: March 31, 2015
True Reach®: 1,664,064 views
As a “reverse April Fool’s Day joke,” BMW New Zealand placed an ad in the local newspaper touting an “April Fool’s Day special” in which the first person to show up at the BMW dealership asking for Tom would be able to swap their old car for a new BMW. Two women show up and, uncertainly, ask for Tom. They are pointed to him, only to find out that the April Fool’s Day joke was for real as Tom hands them the keys to a new BMW.
Amazon Dash Button
Amazon
Release Date: March 31, 2015
True Reach: 1,472,358 views
Amazon had its own reverse April Fools’ joke of sorts. While many other tech companies created videos launching mock products for April Fools’ Day, Amazon released a video announcing a real new product that, nonetheless, created speculation that it was a joke. The video for the Amazon Dash Button shows people running out of household items like coffee pods, laundry pods, and makeup products, then pressing a physical button that automatically re-orders the items.
Saving Aslan
Fixodent
Release Date: March 29, 2015
True Reach: 5,899,374 views
A six-minute video from Fixodent tells the unusual story of a lion receiving dental care. At the Kevin Richardson Wildlife Conservatory in South Africa, Kevin Richardson talks about a white lion named Aslan who broke his canines, which made him quite cantankerous. Showing pictures of the lion as a cub, Richardson explains that he has a special attachment to Aslan and that Fixodent offered to fix the lion’s teeth by sending in dental surgeons. After six hours of surgery, the dentists end up doing work on four of the lion’s teeth. The video ends with Richardson driving a fully recovered Aslan back to reunite with the other lions.
The Special Proposal
CoorDown
Release Date: March 15, 2015
True Reach: 2,478,133 views
For World Down Syndrome Day, CoorDown, an Italian organization supporting people with Down syndrome, uploaded a video called “The Special Proposal.” Salvatore, a 38-year-old Italian man, surprises his girlfriend Caterina at the McDonald’s where she works with a sextet performing an a capella rendition of “Come Away With Me.” The singing men part and Salvatore gets down on one knee and presents Caterina with a key, asking her to fulfill their dream of living together. The couple embraces and the end of the video shows them in their apartment together. CoorDown asks the viewer to donate to the cause to help other people with Down syndrome gain independence.
