I haven’t seen such perfectly branded commercial satire since the Steady Feathers:LG Chicken video back in 2013. Dissolve branded themselves via 100 percent of their own original stock footage, while pointing out the ever so tempting allure of the generic brand video.

When you think of a brand video, it’s fair to want to convey all that your company does–within reason. Your brand video should match what you or company honestly represents as a brand, a brand like Whole Foods, has two basic brand initiatives: healthy and sustainable living.

Check out this video from Whole Food’s Youtube Channel

Now is Whole Foods guilty of a few reels like in the ‘generic video’ above?

Technically yes. But for their brand it makes sense to have footage of people leading healthy lifestyles, cooking, sustainable farming, and so  on.

The next brand example here… is not so innocent. The development of motor vehicles is and continues to be one of the world’s greatest innovations , but in these next two videos below, Audi is guilty of some seriously over the top generic brand videos… Like Nicolas Cage over the top.

Check out this video from Audi in 2012:

No doubt Audi poured a lot of money into making this video, it shows, and it shows well. Now stretching out to buzzwords like ‘connect’ in blue neon made of self-guiding robots is one thing, but featuring a robot lizard? Audi, you’ve gone too far.

And you went even farther in Danish:

Now full disclosure–I don’t speak Danish. I don’t even have a passport. But if I had to guess strictly on visuals alone, starting out with a racially diverse group of men, then followed by a screen of several neon lipstick mouths talking, followed by the launch of a rocket ship and a Swedish Mickey Mouse, I’m going to put two and two together and say that was too far.

When it comes down to it, a branded video needs to stay true to the brand. Think less of how to show each element of your brand and think more about what makes you stand out. Your gut will lead you to what is right for your company to highlight in a video. Think of the first things you tell your friends when they ask about what you do… that is what you are proud of, and that is what you should show off to get the network of clients/consumers that your company deserves.