Commentary: Viscosity and You Is Worth a Watch

Useful as they can be, technical “big topic” videos tend to be dry if not downright boring. And in today’s video-driven world—one in which everything from high-speed go-fast boat runs to bedroom antics are lovingly captured via GoPro digital video and displayed on YouTube—boring doesn’t make the cut.

That’s why “Viscosity and You” from Royal Purple, a manufacturer of synthetic oil and lubricants, caught our attention, despite that it’s not a high-performance powerboat video. Hosted by the engaging “Garage Professor,” the video covers the basics of oil viscosity—what it means, conditions that affect it, basic applications and even how it’s spelled.

To get these answers, and help provide them, the Garage Professor takes to the street, so to speak, during hot rod “Cruise Night” in Southern California and asks questions to members of the car crowd.

As expected, the four-minute video provides a plug for Royal Purple. But the promotion is subtle enough so that the informational aspect of the video—and it is really good, basic stuff that’s often overlooked in street as well as marine applications—doesn’t get lost.

And at the very least, viewers can learn the proper spelling of the word.