Brands cash-in on 'oddly satisfying' video trend

TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Ever found yourself sucked down the online video rabbit hole? For most of us, the answer is "yes."

There’s a reason why that happens, and it's something companies can capitalize on.

There's a video for every personality. For example, a time-lapse of someone pressure washing a driveway. Fans say watching something go from dirty to clean is cathartic, and relieves stress. It's why some online videos of pressure washers cleaning dirt have been viewed millions of times.

Psychologist Dr. Nakisha Hammond explained, "When we're watching something we enjoy, our brain says, ‘OK, I’m going to keep going back to that because it's soothing and satisfying.’"

Some would say "oddly satisfying."

Chris Jenkins, the chief digital officer at the Symphony Agency says there's an entire online community that has evolved around the concept of oddly satisfying content.

"Basically, somebody put a GIF up. It was zipper teeth coming together, just repeating, and one person said, ‘I could watch this for hours,’ and someone else said, ‘Yeah, it's just oddly satisfying,’ and they literally formed the community on Reddit that day in May of 2015 and it's grown to millions of subscribers," Jenkins said.

Pressure washing is just the beginning.

Type "oddly satisfying" into YouTube and you'll find options ranging from tractor videos, with 50 million views, to cake smashing, with 100 million, and even pimple popping, which gets a cool billion views.

There are also seemingly-endless videos of crunching and whispering.

The concept is not lost on companies who are selling to our senses.; from Coke to Corona to Dove chocolate.

Alex Rodriguez, the founder of YMMY Digital Marketing, says is all about bringing an experience directly to a consumer.

"You give the sense of what that consuming experience is all about," Rodriguez said.

We asked the experts what they find oddly satisfying.  

Chris Jenkins: Dominos falling videos. When you see someone who spent hours have it all go down -  ahhhh.

Dr. Hammond: I love kid videos; babies, kids.

Alex Rodriguez: Where they take a tennis ball or something and crush it under hydraulic pressure.

Relieving pressure, one oddly satisfying video at a time.