Emirates - Casey Neistat

Emirates - Casey Neistat

Love him or hate him, self-described “brotastic” lifestyle vlogger Casey Neistat knows how to get people to watch his videos. And with upwards of 750K followers on Twitter, 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 4.9 million subscribers on YouTube, Emirates could not have picked a better social media booster for their luxurious First Class offerings than the crazy-enthusiastic Neistat.

And though Neistat insists that he was not paid by Emirates to highlight the glories of their First Class cabin, the fact that Emirates bumped the YouTube superstar to First Class from Business on a recent flight from Dubai to New York has paid off handsomely for the carrier.

Shooting video every step of the way during the flight, Neistat’s 9-minute YouTube clip just might be the best “ad” any airline never paid for.

Already viewed nearly 20 million times on YouTube alone, the clip features Neistat exploring every nook and cranny of the Emirates First Class suite, eating like a king from the customized menu, and even taking a five-minute shower in one of Emirate’s legendarily inflight bathrooms.

Generating major buzz online over the past couple of weeks everywhere from the website for The Sun UK and AdWeek. com to popular, digital native news outlet, Quartz.com the clip is easily the best bang for the carrier’s buck in years.

As far as brand awareness goes, the fact that Neistat’s video has instantly equated the Emirates name with world-class luxury for a generation of YouTube viewers, many of whom have probably never even heard of the carrier, is a win-win situation for all.