20 most visible Brands in 2014 music videos
Posted on 14th January 2015
Concave Brand Tracking records all Brand sightings and mentions across various forms of entertainment, including all songs and music videos that chart in Billboard’s weekly Hot 100. This data is used to compare Brands to their competitors both in terms of visibility and portrayal.
Between the first week of January 2014 and the last week of December 2014, 454 different songs charted in Billboard’s weekly Hot 100. As of the end of December 2014, 368 of these songs had official music videos released onto the artists’ official YouTube channels. With some songs having more than 1 video, our sample includes 371 music videos. Collectively, these have received over 21 billion YouTube views in 2014.
Of the 371 music videos, 87% feature at least one identifiable Branded product. Concave Brand Tracking recorded over 660 different Brands in these videos. This report ranks the 20 most visible ones for 2014.
Our visibility scores are determined based on the following criteria:
– how many videos a Brand has appeared in
– how many YouTube views those videos have received
– how much screen time a Brand received in those videos
– whether a Brand’s logo or name is shown
– how visible the product is when on screen
You can check out our Q1 report by clicking here, and our Q2 by clicking here. and our Q3 report here
As well as visibility measurements, Concave Brand Tracking records contextual information of Brand appearances such as associated individuals, location, use and general associations. Using this, we will explain how each of these 10 Brands are portrayed, as well as why they are amongst the most visible Brands of 2014.
#20 - 11
#10 Fender
Q1: #27 Q2: #12 Q3: #9 Q4: #9
music videos: 26 2014 total YouTube views : 1.2 billion
total screen time: 5 minutes 26 seconds
most visible appearance: RUDE by MAGIC!
logo visibility: high main product: instruments product visibility: 71% subtle, 22% background
Why?
Fender was the 27th most visible Brand in music videos in the 1st quarter of 2014. It then rose to #12 in Q2 and subsequently #9 in Q3 and Q4. This increased visibility was mainly due to RUDE by MAGIC! which garnered almost 290 million views in the 2nd half of 2014 despite only receiving 17 million in the 1st half. RUDE accounted for 77% of Fender’s 2014 visibility. The 2nd biggest contributor was SHE LOOKS SO PERFECT by 5 Seconds Of Summer, which accounted for 7% of Fender’s visibility.
Of the 26 videos in which Fender instruments were seen, 4 received over 100 million YouTube views in 2014 and only 2 less than 1 million.
Gibson appeared in 8 videos more than Fender and totalled over 8 minutes of screen time, but received around 300 million less views than Fender.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Fender was mostly portrayed as a professional Brand. In 18 of the 26 videos it appeared in, its products were used in professional settings such as concert stages or band performances.
84% of individuals associated with Fender were male and 88% were white. In comparison, individuals associated with Gibson were 91% male and 97% white. Hence, Fender was more diverse than Gibson both in terms of gender and ethnicity.
#9 Cadillac
Q1: #3 Q2: #9 Q3: #12 Q4: #11
music videos: 17 2014 total YouTube views : 737 million
total screen time: 6 minutes 24 seconds
most visible appearance: WHITE WALLS by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis
logo visibility: high main product: cars product visibility: 48% subtle, 45% background
Why?
Starting at #3 in Q1, Cadillac has descended our ranking throughout the year, dropping out of the top 10 in Q3 and Q4. This pattern is due to 86% of Cadillac’s visibility coming from WHITE WALLS by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis and WORST BEHAVIOR by Drake; both of these videos were released in 2013, and 60% of their views came in the first half of the year. As their views decreased throughout the year, so did Cadillac’s visibility.
Videos released in 2014 featuring Cadillac, such as ABOUT THE MONEY by T.I. and PRAYER IN THE C by Lilly Wood & The Prick and Robin Schulz received more views than WHITE WALLS and WORST BEHAVIOR. However Cadillac did not receive more than 29 seconds of screen time in any 2014 video, but it was on screen for 1 minute and 55 seconds in WHITE WALLS and 1 minute and 16 seconds in WORST BEHAVIOR.
How is the Brand portrayed?
The trend that we have seen all year is that Cadillac’s image in music is that of an old status symbol.
Old because, of the 32 Cadillac models we identified, only 3 were from later than 1992. Furthermore, the average model year for all Cadillac cars was 1977. The only other common car Brand to have an older average model year was Chevrolet.
The status symbol aspect comes from the fact that in 10 of the 17 videos in which Cadillac featured, it was portrayed as cool. That is to say that individuals seek to be associated with Cadillac and that their cars are shown in a proud and positive way.
#8 Chevrolet
Q1: #9 Q2: #8 Q3: #8 Q4: #8
music videos: 48 2014 total YouTube views : 963 million
total screen time: 11 minutes 55 seconds
most visible appearance: SUMMER by Calvin Harris
logo visibility: medium main product: cars product visibility: 64% subtle, 30% background
Why?
Chevrolet appeared in the 3rd most videos of any Brand and had the most total screen time in them. However, we do not find Chevrolet higher in this ranking because these videos received less than a billion views between them. All Brands ranked higher than Chevrolet surpassed this threshold.
Only 1 video featuring Chevrolet received over 100 million views in 2014, while 30 received less than 10 million. 43% of videos featuring Chevrolet were for Country songs, and averaged less than 5 million views each. In comparison, the overall average for all music videos was over 66 million views.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Chevrolet’s portrayal has two very distinct aspects. On the one hand, Chevrolet vehicles – mostly trucks – are shown as a practical, yet emotionally evocative part of Country culture. On the other, they are cool status symbols linked with old school Hip hop.
In Country – which accounts for 21 of Chevrolet’s 48 video appearances – the Brand is associated with cross country driving (48%), romance (29%), tailgating (19%) and shown as cool in 33% of music videos. In Hip hop – which accounts for 18 of Chevrolet’s 48 video appearances – the Brand is associated with cruising (28%), crime (11%) and shown as cool in 61% of music videos.
Like Cadillac, older Chevrolet cars are more often shown. The average model was from 1975, older than any Brand appearing in more than 10 videos.
#7 Versace
Q1: #2 Q2: #6 Q3: #7 Q4: #7
music videos: 29 2014 total YouTube views : 1.9 billion
total screen time: 9 minutes 55 seconds
most visible appearance: 23 by Mike WiLL Made-It
logo visibility: low main product: accessories & clothing product visibility: 81% subtle, 13% discreet
Why?
Versace was the 2nd most visible Brand in Q1, but dropped and settled into 7th position in Q3, Q4 and for all of 2014. The Brand appeared in 29 videos for a combined screen time of almost 10 minutes and close to 2 billion views. 79% of Versace’s 2014 visibility came from the 2013 video 23 by Mike WiLL Made-It. Versace does not rank higher due to its logo only having been seen in 15% of its screen time, the 2nd lowest % for this top 10.
How is the Brand portrayed?
The big story regarding Versace in music videos in 2014 is the drastic difference in its portrayal in music vs. its own marketing. Versace advertising emphasises fashion, sophistication and subtle luxury. It also targets white, mostly female, individuals. However, in music videos, especially in hip hop – which account for 86% of videos in which Versace appears – the Brand portrayal is very different.
In music, Versace is overwhelmingly worn as a cool status symbol. This occurs in 86% of videos while it is only associated with fashion in 17% and luxury in 10%. Other associations which diverge from Versace’s intended image are sexyness, showing off and going out. These occur about as frequently as luxury and fashion. Versace was even shown as casual in 2 music videos and associated with smoking in 2 others.
Finally, 86% of individuals associated with Versace in music in 2014 were male, 79% were black and their average was 29. 52% were also rap artists. This differs radically from Versace’s latest Brand ambassador: the female, white and 56-year-old pop star, Madonna.
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#6 Ray Ban
Q1: #8 Q2: #5 Q3: #6 Q4: #6
music videos: 33 2014 total YouTube views : 1.8 billion
total screen time: 9 minutes 48 seconds
most visible appearance: RAP GOD by Eminem
logo visibility: medium main product: sunglasses product visibility: 87% subtle, 13% background
Why?
In Q1, Ray Ban was the 8th most visible Brand. It rose to be the #5 in Q2, before settling at #6 in Q3, Q4 and for 2014 overall. Ray Ban is yet another Brand which got the most visibility from a 2013 music video. RAP GOD by Eminem – which featured the artist wearing Ray Bans for over 1½ minutes while receiving over 142 million YouTube views in 2014 – contributed to 47% of Ray Ban’s visibility despite being released in November 2013. UPTOWN FUNK! By Mark Ronson, #SELFIE by The Chainsmokers and WIGGLE by Jason Derulo all contributed at least 10% of Ray Ban’s visibility.
Two videos featuring Ray Ban had over 400 million views in 2014 and 17 had over 10 million, yet 4 videos had less than 1 million.
How is the Brand portrayed?
A Brand like Versace was dominated by one specific demographic, Ray Ban is an example of diversity. While females only represented 16% of individuals associated with Brands in music, 21% of those associated with Ray Ban were female. In terms of ethnicity, 65% of individuals associated with Ray Ban were white. However, black, latino, asian and individuals of other ethnicities also wore Ray Bans in music videos. Finally, individuals wearing Ray Bans ranged from teenagers in I’M READY by AJR to 47-year-old E-40 in I DON’T F**K WITH YOU by Big Sean.
Ray Ban products were portrayed as cool in 58% of music videos. They were also associated with fun (27%), summer (21%), attraction (21%), music (18%) and sexyness (15%).
#5 Nike
Q1: #6 Q2: #4 Q3: #5 Q4: #4
music videos: 56 2014 total YouTube views : 4 billion
total screen time: 7 minutes 56 seconds
most visible appearance: WE ARE ONE (OLE OLA) by Pitbull
logo visibility: high main product: shoes product visibility: 57% discreet, 45% subtle
Why?
Nike appeared in 56 music videos, the 2nd most of any Brand. These added up to over 4 billion views in 2014, more than any other Brand. Despite also having a high logo visibility, we do not find Nike higher in this ranking due to their products being shown discreetly in 57% of its screen time.
Please note that the Air Jordan is tracked separately from Nike.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Nike’s portrayal is divided between that of a sports Brand, a dancing Brand and a casualwear Brand.
Nike is only associated with sports in 23% of its videos. Four associate it with fitness/working out, 3 with basketball, 2 with football and 2 with soccer. WE ARE ONE (OLE OLA) by Pitbull, which associated Nike with soccer, accounted for 30% of its yearly visibility, more than any other video.
In 21% of videos featuring Nike, their shoes were worn by dancers. Adidas, Air Jordan, Converse and Puma are also strongly associated with dancing.
When not associated with sports or dancing, Nike products were worn casually (21%) or in miscellaneous contexts. As such, Nike was portrayed as cool in 55% of videos as well as associated with fashion, luxury, going out, attraction and even motorcycle riding.
#1 Air Jordan
Q1: #1 Q2: #3 Q3: #1 Q4: #5
music videos: 25 2014 total YouTube views : 1.9 billion
total screen time: 9 minutes 4 seconds
most visible appearance: 23 by Mike WiLL Made-It
logo visibility: medium main product: shoes product visibility: 88% discreet, 8% subtle
Why?
Air Jordan topped our rankings in Q1 and Q3 before falling to #5 in Q4. It ends the year as 4th most visible Brand for 2014. The Brand’s highs and relative lows are mainly due to the fact that its visibility came mostly from 2 videos. Indeed, 23 by Mike WiLL Made-It accounted for 64% of Air Jordan’s 2014 visibility, while Nicki Minaj’s ANACONDA contributed 33%. No other video accounted for more that 2%, and 21 represented less than 1% each.
This disparity is partly due to 23 and ANACONDA receiving over 550 million views between them, while only 2 other videos had over 100 million. Other factors include that 19 of the 25 videos showed Jordan products for less than 20 seconds, and that most of the screen time was discreet.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Despite its Brand history stemming from Michael Jordan, the Jordan Brand was only associated with sports in 4 videos, and basketball in 2 of these.
However, Air Jordan was portrayed as cool in 88% of its videos, more than any other shoe or sportswear Brand. The Brand was also associated with dancing (28%), attraction (24%) and even sexyness (12%).
69% of individuals associated with Air Jordan were black and 21% white. Only 21% of individuals who wore Air Jordan in music videos were female, but these included the likes of Miley Cyrus and Nicki Minaj. The average age of individuals associated with Air Jordan was 28.
#3 Apple
Q1: #4 Q2: #1 Q3: #3 Q4: #3
music videos: 60 2014 total YouTube views : 3.2 billion
total screen time: 8 minutes 27 seconds
most visible appearance: #SELFIE by The Chainsmokers
logo visibility: low main product: mobile phones product visibility: 42% subtle, 26% discreet, 22% close-up
Why?
Apple appeared in 60 music videos, more than any other Brand. These videos combined for a little over 3 billion views which was the 3rd most this year. Apple does not appear higher in our ranking due to a very low logo visibility and the only the 9th most screen time. 70% of Apple’s 2014 visibility came from #SELFIE by The Chainsmokers. Apple had 48 seconds of screen time in the video, which received almost 275 million views.
89% of Apple’s screen time was in the form of mobile phones. However, Apple MP3 players, tablets, laptops and computers also appeared in a few music videos.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Apple laptops, which appeared in 6 music videos, were used professionally in 5 of them. In 3 of these, the MacBooks were used for DJing.
iPhones, which appeared in 42 videos, were frequently used for photography and music. In 12 videos, Apple phones were used to take photos, but specifically selfies in 6 of them. The music use comes from iPhones being used with the Beats Music app, Beats headphones and Beats Pill speakers.
53% of individuals associated with Apple products were female. This is higher than for any other Brand in this ranking, and the 11th highest % amongst the 208 Brands that appeared in 5 or more videos.
#2 Beats by Dre
Q1: #7 Q2: #7 Q3: #2 Q4: #1
music videos: 38 2014 total YouTube views : 2.4 billion
total screen time: 6 minutes 25 seconds
most visible appearance: BANG BANG by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj
logo visibility: high main product: speakers & headphones product visibility: 56% subtle, 6% close-up
Why?
Beats by Dre was the 7th most visible Brand in Q1 and Q2 before rising up to #2 in Q3 and then #1 in Q4. Ultimately, it was the 2nd most visible Brand of 2014. Unlike most Brands in this top 10, Beats by Dre did not get most of its visibility from a 2013 video that continued to garner many views throughout 2014. Beats by Dre got 31% of its visibility from BANG BANG by Jessie J, Ariana Grande & Nicki Minaj which was only released in August 2014. This explains its rise in our ranking in the 2nd half 2014.
The screen time is split almost 50/50 between headphones and Pill speakers, but the speakers received over 70% of Beats by Dre’s visibility.
Please note that Beats Music is tracked separately from Beats by Dre. Beats Music is the 16th most visible Brand in 2014.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Some Brands in this top 10 got their visibility from organic appearances, while others did so from a mix or organic use and product placement. Beats by Dre however, appears almost exclusively due to product placement. The result is Beats by Dre being portrayed as cool in 57% of videos as well as fun in 13%. It is also associated with music (39%), dancing (13%) and used with Apple devices in 42% of videos.
63% of individuals associated with Beats by Dre are male, 53% are white and 40% black. Their average age is 30.
#1 Adidas
Q1: #13 Q2: #2 Q3: #4 Q4: #2
music videos: 39 2014 total YouTube views : 3.9 billion
total screen time: 8 minutes 48 seconds
most visible appearance: I DON’T F**K WITH YOU by Big Sean
logo visibility: medium main product: shoes & jerseys product visibility: 59% subtle, 30% discreet
Why?
Adidas started the year outside of our Q1 top 10, as the 13th most visible Brand in music videos. However, as the year progressed, songs such as WORK and FANCY by Iggy Azalea became major hits along with their videos, which contain Adidas products. World Cup themed songs WE ARE ONE (OLE OLA) by Pitbull and BAILANDO by Enrique Iglesias – which also featured Adidas – rose to prominence throughout the year, too. These 4 videos combined for almost 1.5 billion views.
However, it was I DON’T F**K WITH YOU by Big Sean, which was only released in Q4, that sealed Adidas as the 2014’s most visible Brand in music videos. Despite the video only receiving 18.6 million views in 2014, it accounted for 39% of Adidas’ yearly visibility. This is because the video gave Adidas over 3 minutes of screen time, during most of which its logo was visible.
How is the Brand portrayed?
Like Nike, Adidas’ use was split between casualwear (59%), dancing (28%) and sports (18%). It was associated with basketball in L.A.LOVE (LA LA) by FERGIE, working out in BRAVE by Sara Bareilles, tennis in FANCY, soccer in WE ARE ONE (OLE OLA) & BAILANDO and football in LETTIN’ THE NIGHT ROLL by Justin Moore & I DON’T F**K WITH YOU. Adidas was shown as cool in 66% of music videos.
73% of individuals associated with Adidas were female, 46% black and 38% white. Their average age was 31.
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