Think about the last video clip you watched that didn’t feel like an ad, but still made you smile, think, or even tear up. That’s the magic of storytelling videos.
Today, brands are increasingly using stories to educate, entertain, and engage their audiences. In fact, storytelling videos can increase conversions by up to 30%, which makes them a powerful tool for customer retention and brand recall.
There are several storytelling video examples, but the right one can spark emotion and lead the brand to get wider organic reach. In this article, you’ll discover 15 best storytelling video examples with powerful lessons that make them unforgettable.
What Is A Storytelling Video?
A storytelling video is a powerful marketing tool that delivers ideas, products, or brand values through engaging stories. It can feature animated characters, real actors, or authentic real-life moments in a captivating story that connects with viewers.
Power of Storytelling Videos In Marketing
The success of achieving a wide reach through best storytelling videos depends on how effectively it conveys a message that impacts the audience’s emotions.
Before heading towards some popular storytelling video examples, here’s a research report that shows how brands grow with storytelling videos:
- 64% of consumers say they’ve purchased a product after watching a storytelling video.
- 93% of marketers say video has directly helped increase sales.
- 89% of businesses now use video as a marketing tool.
15 Best Storytelling Video Examples Ever
If you are starting up your business or running one, you need to understand how storytelling visuals have helped renowned brands in running successful marketing campaigns.
Here are the top best storytelling video examples:
1. Semrush
Storytelling Video: Traffic Analytics API
Duration: 43 seconds
Semrush is a global digital marketing platform that manages the online growth and visibility of a brand. It released a storytelling video in 2022 to promote its Traffic Analytics API tool to showcase how it improves web performance.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- The colourful animation and Lego bricks are visual symbols to represent the creative insights of the brand.
- It shows how individual Lego blocks come together to form meaningful structures.
- The purpose is to explain how raw data is collected, organised, and turned into actionable insights.
2. eBay
Storytelling Video: Buy Thing Sell Thing
Duration: 43 seconds
Ebay is a massive marketplace where businesses and individuals can buy and sell anything online. It started a memorable campaign in 2021 named Buy Thing Sell Thing to encourage people to resell their items and buy preloved.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- Lively visuals of people exchanging items with energetic music.
- The catchy lyrics, “Buy Thing, Sell Thing, Never Ever Throw A Thing, grabbed the attention.
- It shows how eBay helps users save money, sell unused items, and discover affordable preloved goods.
3. Nike
Storytelling Video: You Can’t Stop Us
Duration: 1:30
Nike is a famous sports brand known for innovative products and motivational campaigns. After the COVID-19 pandemic, Nike celebrated the return of sports in 2020 with a marketing campaign, “You Can’t Stop Us, with one of the best examples of storytelling.
What makes it stand out?
This video shows:
- Different athletes across sports, cultures, and abilities with powerful visuals.
- Shows the human spirit by linking them together.
- Use of split-screen editing to connect movements, which create one continuous shared story.
4. Disney
Storytelling Video: The Stepdad
Duration: 3:26
Disney is a major American media and entertainment company that is popular for their animated characters like Mickey Mouse. Disney started a campaign, “From Our Family To Yours” in 2021, and “The Stepdad: is a part of it.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- A stepdad who takes the Christmas holidays as an opportunity to get close to his stepkids.
- He used many ways, like storytelling, traditional activities, and watching Disney movies with them.
- The purpose is to show his real struggles to earn the real affection of the kids and family.
5. IKEA
Storytelling Video: Show Off Your Savvy
Duration: 1:00
When thinking about home solutions, IKEA first comes to mind as it is a well-known brand that supplies furniture and home goods. It launched a “Show Off Your Savvy” campaign in 2023, which portrays how IKEA can make everyday life better without expensive decor.
What makes it stand out?
This video portrays:
- A proud homeowner who is giving a tour of his home in a fun style.
- Highlights smart IKEA products like washable covers and energy-saving lights.
- Shows how affordable solutions create a functional, stylish, everyday living space.
6. Canva
Storytelling Video: What Will You Design Today
Duration: 1:48. Today, everyone is aware of Canva, a leading creative platform that allows users to design visually stunning content with ease. Canva released a storytelling video in 2022, which is a part of the “What Will You Design Today” campaign.
What Makes It Stand Out?
The key element of this video is:
- The use of Canva by employees of different industries.
- It helps in making presentations, branding materials, business designs, and community projects.
- Friendly visuals and real testimonials that highlight the power of creativity with Canva.
7. Apple
Storytelling Video: Behind The Mac
Duration: 1:01
Apple is a popular multinational company that revolutionised technology with its products. It started a long-running campaign, “Behind The Mac, and released a storytelling video as part of it in 2023 to celebrate creativity and innovation.
What makes it stand out?
This one is the best example of storytelling video because:
- It shows real creators like musicians, designers, and photographers at work.
- Use of inspiring visuals to highlight creativity and innovation across industries.
- Position Mac as an essential tool supporting every creator’s unique journey.
8. Lego
Storytelling Video: Rebuild The World
Duration: 1:43
Lego is the world’s most popular toy brand, known for its colourful plastic building block toys. In their Rebuild The World campaign started in 2019, Lego released a storytelling video. It encourages children and adults to use imagination to build, create, and solve problems in new ways.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- Fun visuals with playful music that spark imagination.
- Shows kids and adults creating amazing ideas from simple materials.
- It encourages creative thinking, problem-solving, and building without limits.
9. Squarespace
Storytelling Video: Make A Website to Sell Anything
Duration: 1:07
Squraespace is an all-in-one platform that provides the opportunity to sell products most creatively. This platform launched the “Make A Website to Sell Anything” campaign in 2023 to highlight its versatility in creating a professional website.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- All kinds of creative business ideas like online gaming classes, fun laughter therapy sessions, etc.
- Highlights the Squarespace flexibility of creating a professional website.
- It supports creators to sell any idea they can imagine online by using this platform.
10. Shopify
Storytelling Video: First Sale Story
Duration: 53 seconds
It is a leading e‑commerce platform that helps entrepreneurs manage online stores with powerful tools. It released a storytelling video, ‘First Sale Story,’ in 2021, which highlights the emotional journey of new business owners.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- A small business owner turned his passion into a business.
- Capture the excitement and challenges of his first online sale.
- It emphasises how Shopify supports sellers at every step to grow their business.
11. Etsy
Storytelling Video: Unique Chess
Duration: 30 seconds
It is a reliable online marketplace known for handmade, vintage, and unique items created by independent sellers. The brand is known for promoting its mindful campaigns with the best storytelling videos, and Etsy – Unique Chess is one of them, released in 2021.
What Makes It Stand Out?
The video shows:
- A mother who wants to reduce the screen time of her son requests an Etsy seller to make a dragon-themed chess set.
- When it arrives, she’s delighted to see him instantly captivated by the chess pieces.
- It shows how this brand transforms the attention of kids and adults to creative items.
12. Starbucks
Storytelling Video: It Starts With You
Duration: 57 seconds
Starbucks is a global coffeehouse brand that combines quality beverages with meaningful experiences. It is also known for its
Starbucks is known for its professional campaigns, and It Starts With You is one of them that launched in 2021. The company promotes this campaign with an energetic storytelling video.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- People from different backgrounds are entering the Starbucks store to get their coffee.
- Highlight behind-the-scenes how baristas prepare their drink, and it fills their day with energy.
- Shows an energetic visual with music but zero dialogue, making it the best example of storytelling.
13. McDonald’s
Storytelling Video: The Gift of McDonald’s
Duration: 1:00
McDonald’s is the world’s most popular fast food chain. It launched a Christmas campaign in 2024 and released ‘The Gift of McDonald’s, which is a storytelling video. It shows how this famous spot gives comfort in the holiday season.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- A tired couple finding comfort after finishing holiday shopping.
- Uses festive lights, music, and familiar McDonald’s characters.
- Change an ordinary drive into a warm, magical holiday moment.
14. Atlassian
Storytelling Video: Impossible Alone
Duration: 1:01
It is a global software company known for collaboration tools that help software and IT-related businesses. It launched the “Impossible Alone” campaign in 2023 to promote that big challenges cannot be solved alone.
What Makes It Stand Out?
This video shows:
- Individuals face tough challenges that require teamwork to solve.
- Highlights collaboration and shared effort as key to overcoming problems.
- Inspires viewers to value teamwork and collective problem-solving in any task.
15. Aldi
Storytelling Video: Christmas Advert 2021
Duration: 1:20Aldi is a popular supermarket chain worldwide, known for high-quality products at reasonable prices. Aldi released “A Christmas Carrot,” a storytelling video in 2021, aiming to share a message about kindness and the true spirit of Christmas.
What Makes It Stand Out?
- Playful animated fruit and vegetable characters with festive music.
- Uses well-known festive ideas and jokes to make the story funny and interesting.
- It keeps the viewers engaged while reinforcing the spirit of kindness.
Conclusion
A successful brands not just sell products but sparks emotions by sharing ideas with the best storytelling videos. Today, storytelling has become the heartbeat of modern video marketing. It focuses on human experiences rather than hard sales, which creates deeper connections and lasting brand recall.
Are you ready to change your ideas into compelling visuals? Then partner with Swift Animation, a leading animation service provider in the USA. With professional expertise, our team helps bring your brand’s campaign to life through powerful, story-driven animation which not just holds the audience’s attention but also increases the conversion.
FAQs
How beneficial is storytelling through video for businesses?
There are several benefits of storytelling videos to businesses as they convey creative messages of the brands to the target audience and boost customer retention.
Does the best storytelling video increase conversion rate?
Yes, storytelling videos can increase conversions by up to 30% as per reports. This strategy builds an emotional connection with viewers that impacts purchase decisions.
What are some popular examples of storytelling videos?
There are several popular examples of storytelling, like Nike’s You Can’t Stop Us, Disney’s The Stepdad, Etsy’s Unique Chess, McDonald’s The Gift, and many more.
Is storytelling through videos for every industry?
Yes, storytelling videos work best across all industries, such as retail, tech, entertainment, and e-commerce.
How many brands use video storytelling in marketing?
As per reports, 89% of businesses are now using a video marketing strategy as it is considered the most effective way to connect emotionally and engage audiences.
What is the purpose of storytelling videos?
The main purpose of storytelling videos is to convey ideas, products, or brand awareness through emotional narratives.