Here is our tribute to the most wildly exhilarating, hair-raising, knee-weakening mini advertorial marvels you can watch in less than six or 15 seconds.

Think this list will be dominated by GoPro and Red Bull? Well yes obviously a few of them will be by those titans of extreme content marketing, but you’ll be surprised at how many other brands are getting in on the danger-courting game.

It’s pretty obvious why footage of daredevil escapades work so well on social, dangerous stunts and high adventure speak to our very basic desire to be gripped from the safety of our small screens, and these videos are some of quickest to pick up velocity across channels.

Plus with advancements in hardware, especially thanks to GoPro itself, it’s now possible to capture events from angles never dreamt of before.

Climb inside the helmet of a deep-sea diver, cling to the end of a skateboard as it does a 360-degree flip, jump out of a balloon hovering above the stratosphere. All is possible now and the only limit is human endurance.

If you want some killer advice on how to improve your own social video efforts then check out these best practice guides: how brands can be brilliant at Vine and how brands can be brilliant at Instagram video.

In the meantime, here’s some compelling inspiration…

GoPro

It’s hard to pick just one and I feel it would be doing you, the reader, a disservice if I limited your enjoyment here. In fact I believe it would be irresponsible. These are my top three favourite GoPro Instagram videos.

For more on GoPro check out its dazzling YouTube strategy.

Red Bull

And of course if I gave GoPro three shots at the top, then I definitely have to be fair and offer the same to Red Bull. Here are my top three Red Bull Instagram videos.

Nike

Possibly my favourite ever Instagram video This creates excitement through frenetic editing, captivating imagery and a driving percussion.

ESPN

Look! His helmet popped straight off. I’d be that smug too. Assuming his head wasn’t attached.

Ford

Ford has a consistently inventive eye for short form video, read all abut it here: why is Ford’s social strategy so go good? https://econsultancy.com/blog/64701-why-is-ford-s-social-media-strategy-so-good

Ford Europe

Faithful toy car recreations of the best bit in Bullit will always be a winner.

Target

Target takes full advantage of Vine’s ‘infinite loop’ with this beautifully created Vine.

General Electric

Most of the time GE like to educate. Other times it likes to reveal facts of great historical importance. Sometimes though, GE just likes to smash stuff up.

Vans

Chewbacca skateboarding. It’s like my eight year-old self just made an advert.

Check out how else Vans uses social media here. Check out how else Vans uses social media here.

National Geographic

Dance break!

Toyota

Well you have to get to the river somehow.

Google Glass

Seems like the [erfect way to put Google Glass to the test and show off exactly what it’s capable of.

Nike Skateboarding

Adding a surprising angle to a fairly rudimentary skate video.

Tide

Of course to be thrilling can also mean to be terrified witless… Here’s Tide’s chilling homage to The Ring.

Playstation

I’m surprised that Instagram and Vine isn’t used more for video game teasers. Here is some incredible footage from Drive Club where you can actually feel the cold hard rain pelting against your windshield.

Visa

Perhaps even more thrilling than the Winter Olympics itself, here Visa let’s you know how it feels to travel to Sochi by being shot out of a cannon.

Buick

I shall remain forever naive about whether this is real or not. I choose to believe the former.

Samsung Mobile

Samsung Mobile zooms right to the front of the pack with this racing Vine.

Old Spice

Making physical exactly what every thrilling Vine should do to your face.

Dunkin Donuts

Donut goes in the cage. Cage goes into the water. Shark is in the water. Our sha… oh wait it’s plastic, nevermind.

Econsultancy

And just for good measure, here’s a breakneck trip around our office thanks to Hyperlapse.

Be sure to check back at the end of every month for regular best Instagram video and best Vine round-ups. 

Our Festival of Marketing event in November is a two day celebration of the modern marketing industry, featuring speakers from brands including LEGO, Tesco, Barclays, FT.com and more.