Why YouTube’s 2018 Rewind Video Bombed So Hard
Published -
- December 19, 2018
- 10:40 pm
YouTube released its first annual Rewind in 2011, but its 2018 version became the platform’s most hated video of all time just days after its release.
Why were millions of people upset with the year-end recap? Here are all the reasons why YouTube’s 2018 Rewind bombed so hard.
PewDiePie is missing … again | 0:22
Logan Paul’s conspicuous absence | 1:00
The Twitch betrayal | 1:48
Will Smith’s imagination | 2:30
Invasion of the late night hosts | 3:06
Shane Dawson locked out | 3:47
No respects | 4:29
Going Hollywood | 5:12
Was it too cringey? | 5:54
What impact did the apparent political agenda of the video have on its reception and what could be done to avoid similar misconceptions in the future?
YouTube’s annual Rewind video has become a highly anticipated and much talked about event within the YouTube community. However, in 2018, the video bombed so hard that it became one of the most disliked videos in the history of the platform. The 8-minute video, which typically celebrates the year’s biggest events, memes and creators, was heavily criticized for being out of touch and ignoring the platform’s most significant moments. So what exactly went wrong?
Firstly, the video lacked the personal touch that had made previous iterations so successful. Rewind 2018 was largely driven by celebrities and corporate sponsorships, which many viewers felt was a betrayal of what the platform stood for. It was accused of being a corporate video that neglected the individual creators and community that makes YouTube what it is.
Another issue was that the video failed to represent the most important and viral trends of the year. YouTube has always been a platform that celebrates individual creators and their unique contributions to online culture. However, the Rewind video focused on polished, high budget segments that seemed more like ads than authentic content.
Furthermore, the excessive use of cringe-worthy memes and humor left many feeling alienated and out of touch. The video relied too heavily on humor that didn’t reflect the experiences of the average viewer. The result was a video that didn’t hit the mark with the vast majority of YouTube’s audience.
Finally, there was a sense that the video was made with a political agenda in mind. The biggest social issues of 2018, such as the #MeToo movement and the Parkland shooting, were either entirely left out or represented in a trivial and insensitive manner. The lack of representation for important issues left many feeling that the video was a trivialization of what was important in the world.
In conclusion, YouTube’s Rewind 2018 was a clear failure. The key issues were its lack of personal touch, excessive focus on celebrity endorsements, failure to represent the platform’s key moments, the overuse of cringe-worthy humor and the sense that it had an underlying political agenda. The backlash from the community has since prompted YouTube to rethink the format and approach of future Rewind videos – let’s hope they take note of their mistakes and produce a video that truly represents what the platform is all about.
