YouTube Rewind 2018 Is The Most Disliked Video Ever – 5 Reasons Why This Happened!
Is this a major embarrassment for Youtube?
YouTube Rewind is a video series comprising the years’ best YouTubers, viral videos, events etc.
It is produced and shot annually by YouTube and Portal A Interactive, an LA-based digital content studio. On 6th December 2018, YouTube launched its eighth edition of Rewind video, ‘YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind’.
Ideally, the video is like an annual report of all the amazing things that has happened on the platform. But, this year, the Rewind is soaring the video community rants big time. The video crossed ranks to be the most ‘disliked’ video on YouTube. Previously, the position was held by Justin Bieber’s Baby. While the latter was the most disliked video for 8 long years, it took Rewind 2018 just 6 days.
So, let’s have a look at what made the video so bad in the eyes of society.
Contents
Lack of Core-Connect
YouTube is known to be a platform where creators can curate content that connects with the audience. It is that connect, that makes the platform get a global traffic of 24 Billion users per month. It occurred as a basic expectation setting from a YouTube video, that there will be a connection with the audience made. YouTube had the most fierce weapon with them. The top creators from around the world. Even then, with all the scripting, rap, animation etc, they failed to deliver.
An Absence of Major YouTubers
There were many famous YouTubers that were not there in the video. YouTube Rewind, that started back in 2010, was initially focused on the throwback to most famous videos of the year and the YouTubers who made it big.
However, drifting from it, YouTube Rewind 2018 lacked major YouTubers like PewDiePie, KSI vs Logan Paul, Jacksepticeye, Vsauce and many others.
Considering the fact that these are few of the most loved YouTubers across the planet, their absence was a set back for the user base. Another let down of a basic expectation setting from YouTube.
Not only that, the talks of this took off to the personal channels of these YouTubers. PewDiePie recently talked about why he was not on the Rewind 2018 video in his Rewind Yearly Review.
Incapable of Making the Most of It: Setting, YouTubers, And Virality
YouTube failed to make the most of the resources they had for making one of the biggest Rewind videos. They could have had the perfect setting for the Rewind.
Rather than focusing on the abstract script and the effects, they could have focused on bringing out the best of the year.
Something similar to what they did in 2011 when they only featured Rebecca Black as the host.
She hosted the top 10 videos of the year with her popular music video ‘Friday’ topping the list that time. Since then, the Rewind has evolved with a mixture of experiments, influence, and focus shifts.
YouTube failed again to make the most of the virality that its platform curated over the year. An apt example could be the PewDiePie vs T-Series battle that had been going on for months.
A fierce battle, that shockingly got PewDiePie around 5 million subscribers in a month over the sudden surge of subscribers for the India based music channel, T-series. Similar to this, there were many contents curated on YouTube that it failed to capitalize on. A bad move, YouTube!
Advertising perspective
One of the patterns that I could observe in this years’ Rewind was the advertising-friendly trait of the video.
Over the years, YouTube from a company’s perspective has functioned in a more business-oriented manner. Be it the evolution of advertisements on their platform, to creating business-oriented content, we have seen it all.
It was that bad move of curating the rewind content with an advertisement perspective that cost them so much. Meira Gebel of Business Insider said the following words for the Rewind:
“ The video appears to be an attempt for the company to keep advertisers on its side following a rather rocky 2018 ”
The criticism does not end with major YouTubers who were not a part of the video or the media or the audience rants. We also found many big YouTubers who are in the video not happy with the way it was put up. A tweet from Marques Brownlee, the famous tech YouTuber, had
Marques or MKBHD did not stop just there. He uploaded a video on his channel talking especially about the steep plunge of the Rewind 2018.
Unnecessary Inclusions: Fortnite, Will Smith
As we can observe, there were many unnecessary inclusions in the video.
For instance, the theme references to the popular game Fortnite. Or, the famous Hollywood star, Will Smith, who also happens to be a YouTuber. But, having them over the quintessential marks of the platform is what fueled the criticism.
It was not just Will Smith but people like John Oliver or Trevor Noah were also associated with the Rewind 2018.
When YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind was launched on their YouTube spotlight channel, it exploded. The video got 29.4 million views in just 24 hours. It made the Rewind 2018 the 13th most watched video under 24 hours for YouTube.
But it was not just the popularity that came along the launch. Criticisms from all circles of the community started flooding in. From Youtubers, critics, fans, stars everyone had an opinion and a feedback for the Rewind 2018.
But, what they all said unanimously is that the YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind was nothing but a ‘cringe-fest’.
With just a few days of its launch, the video has incurred great attention. It is only with time, that we can see where does it go.
About The Author: Ishan Singh
Having had some forms of branding, PR, and marketing experiences right from college, the impact of media always amazes me. I currently work as an Assistant Manager – Digital Marketing at Scripbox. Being a digital marketer, I have had experiences around the domains of Search Engine Optimisation, Branding, and PR. While learning never stops, I decided to contribute along this journey in forms of these stories. In addition to this, you can find me traveling across terrains, fumbling onto some amazing food every now and then, and striking meaningful conversations with everyone.
