YouTuber Anna Akana is taking a year to be single and focus on herself, so of course that’s the moment when she literally runs into Daniel Radcliffe, who’s there to spew valuable life advice.
The video purports to chronicle an accidental meeting with Radcliffe, who then dispenses important life advice about the idea of being open to love, but Akana turns the video on its head with metacommentary on the idea of Akana the YouTuber getting thrown an opportunity to meet the star and dealing with her vow to be single in the face of a Radcliffe-shaped opportunity. There are outtakes embedded, fantasy layered on reality that is also just branded video fantasy. The video twirls down a rabbit hole where discerning real Radcliffe from imaginary Radcliffe ceases to be important and we, and Akana, can all just bask in his glory.
The clip is part of a promotional effort for Radcliffe’s new film, What If, but it’s also a testament to how branded content can truly shine on YouTube. The video doesn’t shy away from admitting that it’s promotional, but Akana makes you not care because it’s just so charming to watch her live out our collective crush on DanRad right in front of him.
This is branded video at its best.
Screengrab via Anna Akana/YouTube
