Rather than using branded pre-roll, Mtn Dew Kickstart played a two-minute pre-roll spot devoid of brand imagery. The video showed NBA Superstar Russell Westbrook dressed in a bright-green suit, doing a “powerstance,” a new move coined by Mtn Dew Kickstart. Russell Westbrook glides through random scenes: a beach, a swamp and a moon landing. Like all DEW pre-roll spots, viewers could skip after five seconds, but the quirky and mysterious pre-roll kept them glued to the end – at which point Westbrook dared viewers to “go ahead, watch my ad."

The pre-roll served as an unbranded continuation of a story that started on TV. The television spot, which ran heavily during the NBA season, introduced sports fans to Russell Westbrook’s “powerstance” and showed him gliding through the streets in his green suit without ever stopping. The pre-roll, which ran concurrently on YouTube, showed us where Russell continued onto after the spot ended, places like a bullfighting arena, the Moon, and the Jurassic period.

We’ve all felt the pain of a pre-roll ad. Fifteen seconds can feel like an eternity when all we want is to watch the video we searched for. Mtn Dew Kickstart's never-ending pre-roll managed to overcome Internet users inclination to "skip" immediately, clocking in at a practically unheard-of average viewing time of 1:20.

Much better than 5 seconds.