It’s no surprise that Public Storage employees and fans are enthusiastic about storage, but recently five groups took their love for the famous orange doors to a whole new level by creating hilarious YouTube videos about the company. The masterpieces featured rapping, dabbing and dancing on orange countertops!
This month, Public Storage employees, customers and our fans in the general public were encouraged to submit a music video with original lyrics about moving, storing and organizing for a chance to win $250.
Eleven employees from Public Storage locations around the country – from Wahiawa, Hawaii to New Hope, Minn. and down to Huntsville, Ala. – submitted videos for the contest. So did two additional fans who were judged in a separate category. Out of the group, five finalist videos were posted to the Public Storage YouTube channel. After thousands of views and a handful of encouraging comments, the Public Storage team just outside Columbus, Ohio emerged as the winner with more than 2,300 views.
Our fan favorite, Corbin, strummed his guitar out and took home the $250 prize in the fan category after his video was watched nearly 1,000 times during the contest!
Read on to learn more about the finalist entrants and winners and how they created their musical moments. And don’t forget to watch their videos!
Public Storage Near Columbus, Ohio Can Help You with That!
When the Public Storage team near Columbus, Ohio heard about the Sing to Win video contest, entering was a no-brainer, said Juanita, a trainer and manager at the Public Storage on Gender Road.
“The hardest part was getting (our district manager) to fake cry,” she added, referring to his role as a customer whose wife left him. “We probably filmed that part 25 times before we got it right, and four different takes ended up being edited together for the beginning.”
Her husband, Kalom, didn’t have much trouble creating the lyrics, rapping them or editing the video for the team, as he’s been making music videos for years.
“He’s been rapping since he was 18 or 19, and put out his first album in 2016,” said his wife Juanita. “Our Regional Manager emailed everyone and said ‘This has (Kalom) written all over it.’”
And he was right! The couple, who vlogs and posts videos online outside of work, shared their Public Storage tribute with their followers and received an amazing reaction from friends, family and total strangers.
Besides spreading details about Public Storage products and how “we can help you with that!”, the team also gained a stronger bond thanks to the group project.
“It was cool for the whole district, although we wanted to get more people involved, but we worked on it in a last-minute time crunch,” said Justin, the district manager who stars in the opening scene of the video. “It’s been a whole team effort and a great team-building experience.”
For the record: He and his wife are still happily married despite his sob story for the video. So don’t worry!
Now that the team has taken the top prize with the most views (more than 2,300 and counting!), the Juanita and Kalom plan to split up the winnings so they, and the rest of the team, can enjoy a date night with their respective spouses.
Packs and Raps at Public Storage in Charlotte, North Carolina!
Not only are these three rapping ladies a team of hardworking coworkers at Public Storage in Charlotte, North Carolina, they are also great friends. And it shows in their video!
“I thought it would be an awesome idea to work towards something fun and creative with my coworkers,” said Krystal, who manages the Public Storage on Harrisburg Road.
Outside of Public Storage, videography is a hobby of Krystal’s that she pursues with her husband.
It may not seem easy to less-musical types, but highlighting the variety of products and storage sizes available at Public Storage locations nationwide in a cohesive rhyme came naturally to this group. It only took two days to write, edit and submit their video!
“We were surprised when we came up with the song in 30 minutes, because we can’t rap,” said Krystal. “But being creative is all of our strong suit.”
This team came in second place with almost 1,900 views by the time the contest ended! Although they didn’t win the cash prize, they consider the experience a win in itself, because it brought the team closer together.
“It was really fun making the video,” said Yolanda.
“Packs, stacks and racks are where it’s at!” added Vida, who is seated in the middle of the picture above and is manager of Public Storage on Albemarle Road.
Put it in the Box at Public Storage in Houston, Texas!
It’s hard to beat a video with cute kids running around! So it was a smart move for Roger, the Public Storage regional vice president in Houston, Texas to submit this flick.
“They were playing with boxes the whole time, which was great,” said Roger. “And the baby loved running around the property, but he’s hard to catch!”
His kids showed just how much stuff anyone can store at one of the more than 2,300 Public Storage locations nationwide.
It may have been fun for his kids, but it was also a meaningful experience for Roger. He got to tie his home life with his work life.
“When my boys were little, I bought them toys and they played with the box instead of the toys. Since then, I’m purchased boxes for them to play with. They decorate the boxes and have made them into castles, clubhouses and rocket ships.”
“When they think of my job, they think of the place with all the boxes.”
Congrats to Roger’s family for becoming a finalist and receiving more than 780 views during the contest!
Public Storage Fan Jams in Last-Minute YouTube Video
A musical man by nature, Corbin of New Hope, Minn. said it was a fun project to create an original storage song for the YouTube contest. He learned about the contest about four hours before the submission deadline, so he worked quickly to create a video in time.
“I’ve been a fulltime guitar teacher for 30 years and I perform,” he said. “I wrote about 10 different ditties and chose the best one. I got my guitar, and that was the best I could do in the time I had.”
At the end of the contest, Corbin received almost 1,000 views, which made him the fan favorite and winner of $250!
“Spontaneity seems to be a good quality in music and video!” he said.
With his winnings, he’s taking his girlfriend and friend out for a nice meal and saving the rest for a new couch for a well-deserved rest after cranking out his storage video.
Public Storage Helps Traveling Dog Head Abroad!
It’s hard not chuckle while watching Tulip, the singing and travelling dog! Her video was a fun entry that rounded out the group of five finalists. It’s not every day a dog can take an old time favorite tune, “American Pie” by Don McLean, and transform it into a catchy song about storage.
Tulip’s owner (and the voice behind the video magic), Jamie of Coleman Falls, Va., enjoys making fun videos with her dogs in her spare time and occasionally enters video contests online.
“It’s more interesting to have her singing and she’s cuter to look at,” said Jamie. “I think (my friends) think I’m kind of silly, but my daughters are definitely entertained to see Tulip sing.”
After thinking about the original lyrics for about a week, she fined tuned them to fit to the tune written by the famous folk rock singer and songwriter.
“Even though Tulip is not putting her things in storage right now, she’d choose Public Storage in the future.”
Tulip’s travel tips got more than 680 views during the contest and she’s now a furry Public Storage ambassador for life!
“Tulip is a good model, and she didn’t mind me sticking her in suitcase because she got a lot of treats,” Jamie said. “So I’m sure she’d do it again.”
Want to check out many more hilarious YouTube videos that Public Storage has to offer? Head over to the Public Storage YouTube channel!
