Mr Beast's video of a week in a Waitomo Cave reached 67 million You Tube views in two days
Waitomo Caves has been given hi-tech publicity a galaxy beyond its advertising spending power by one of YouTube’s most followed people.
Jimmy Donaldson, who goes by the name of Mr Beast, uploaded a video of his time at the caves on Sunday and it had more than 67 million views in two days.
Read King Country News 22 August 2023
Seven Days in a Cave follows Donaldson through the Lost World Cave.
The fast paced, deliberately dramatic video shows how Donaldson and his team led by a guide set up camp and stay in the caves for a week. He also slips in an advert for a toy line which carries his name.
Waitomo Adventures chief Nick Andreef said he expects the benefits of the publicity to rub off not only on the caves, but also the country’s tourism.
“His audience tends to be young adults, teenagers,” he said.
Mr Beast sought them out. There is a request pinned to the comments of the post, “What survival challenge should I try next?”
The making of the video involved round the clock work for a week involving about 50 staff in addition to Donaldson and his support crew underground.
“There was fibre optics throughout the cave and they were editing in real time back in North Carolina,” Andreef said.
He said the crew spent a further two days ensuring nothing had been left in the caves.
