A good explainer video takes something complicated and leaves the viewer understanding it. That’s the whole job.
The ones that succeed do it with a short narrative, visuals that carry meaning rather than decorate, and a call to action that names the next step. The ones that fail usually fail the same way: too much information, not enough structure.
Below are twelve explainer videos worth studying, and the specific decision that makes each one work.
1. AzureSky
An online check-in walkthrough that manages to make an administrative task feel pleasant. A virtual service representative guides the viewer through the flow.
What it gets right: the visuals are simple enough that the process reads instantly, which is what keeps people watching a video about checking in for a flight.
2. Miro
Miro positions itself by pairing the old thing with the new one — snail mail against email, watercooler chats against messaging apps, whiteboards against Miro.
The structure is relentless. Every beat earns its place, real product footage arrives early, and nothing is padded. Miro also uses two YouTube end cards: one to a deeper video, one to the homepage — a small detail that most brands skip.
3. CoachHub
Proof that 2D animation can carry genuine emotion. The video makes you feel the character’s frustration before it offers a solution.
Crucially, it doesn’t explain how the product works. It shows what the product changes — which is the right choice when the mechanism is less interesting than the outcome.
4. TimeSaver
A focused product explainer that gives viewers enough to make a decision. It shows the app’s features and, more importantly, how little friction there is in using them.
The claim is a single sentence — an easy way to track time, meetings, and tasks — and the video spends its whole runtime proving that one claim rather than adding others.
5. 91Squarefeet
Aimed squarely at retail startup founders, with no attempt to broaden the audience.
The video moves from problem to solution in about twenty seconds, and the craft is in how it does it: the visuals shift from dark to light, and the music from tense to calm, at exactly the moment the solution appears. The transition does the persuading.
6. Microsoft
Even the most recognisable companies still have to explain what they sell. This one covers Microsoft’s business cloud offering.
The lesson for B2B brands is in the narration. The animation carries a sense of progress and change, but the script and the delivery are what hold attention — measured, clear, and confident enough not to oversell.
7. Med Mart
A software walkthrough covering how the platform simplifies plastic surgery workflows, broken element by element.
It’s a longer video, and it earns the length by covering the full journey from assessment through post-surgery care. Distinctive 3D visuals keep it clear rather than clinical — proof that a long explainer works when every section answers a real question.
8. EcoWear
A brand film about sustainable clothing made from organic cotton, built around the company’s manufacturing commitments rather than the product range.
It works because it takes a position. For an audience that buys on values, showing how something is made is more persuasive than showing the finished garment.
9. Chip App
Opens with a countdown timer and states its objective immediately. Sharp transitions and high-energy music let it fit a lot into sixty seconds — features, benefits, reviews, and milestones.
Real app screenshots do the demonstrating, and the tagline — “save smart, not hard” — takes over by the end. The close pairs a visual and an audio call to action so the ask lands twice.
10. Crazy Egg
The reference case for explaining an analytics product to people who don’t work in analytics.
Over two minutes it demonstrates what the heat map tool does and why the output matters, with several indirect calls to action along the way. The achievement is that a non-technical viewer finishes it understanding the product.
11. MiiCare
Emotion isn’t only a film device. This video leads with feeling and gets to its core message fast.
Healthcare marketing has to educate and reassure at the same time. MiiCare builds an emotional connection while staying concrete about what the device does day to day — and the subject, ageing and caring for ageing relatives, is one nearly every viewer has a personal stake in.
12. Uber
A masterclass in compression. A single protagonist demonstrates the whole value proposition: finding a ride, getting somewhere quickly, arriving safely.
Fast cuts, driving music, and a story that keeps moving create urgency — and urgency is what converts a viewer into someone who downloads the app.
What These Twelve Have in Common
Every video here simplifies something difficult and connects with a specific audience. None of them tries to say everything.
The techniques vary — emotional storytelling, hard product demonstration, metaphor, pacing — but the discipline is identical: one message, carried by visuals that support it, closed with a clear next step.
If you’re planning a video for an app, product, or service, that’s the standard to hold yourself to. Simple and clear beats comprehensive every time.
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