Source: Adweek
Gaming spots and Super Bowl commercials racked up massive view counts on YouTube in 2016, accounting for six of the 10 slots on Adweek and Google’s full-year YouTube Ads Leaderboard, ranking the most-watched ads on the video site.
And in fact, two of the spots—including the No. 1 most-watched ad, for Mobile Strike—were gaming spots that ran on the Super Bowl. (The other was the #Pokemon20 spot.)
Skittles, Hyundai and Mountain Dew also put Super Bowl ad on this list, while Clash Royale’s “Theme Song” was the other gaming spot. Knorr and Nike finished at No. 2 and 3 for the year with a social experiment and a flashy Euro 2016 spot, respectively.
Check out all 10 spots below. And check out this article from Google’s Kate Stanford, who breaks down the year-end Leaderboard and offers lessons for marketers heading into 2017.
Note: To be eligible for Adweek and Google’s YouTube Ads Leaderboard, videos must be marked as ads on YouTube (i.e., they get some paid views) but must also earn significant organic views. The algorithm factors in paid views, organic views and audience retention (how much of a video people watched).
10. Skittles “The Portrait”
Creative Agency: DDB Chicago
Media: Mediacom/Starcom
Views: 24.2 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21ivbtgqJkg
9. Pokémon “#Pokemon20”
Creative Agency: Omelet
Media: MediaCom
Views: 25.3 million
8. Hyundai “The Chase”
Creative Agency: Innocean USA
Media: Canvas Worldwide
Views: 26.1 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LT6n1HcJOio
7. Always “#LikeAGirl – Keep Playing”
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett
Media: Starcom Mediavest Group
Views: 27.8 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Emawq64b0DU
6. Mountain Dew “Puppymonkeybaby”
Creative Agency: BBDO
Media: OMD
Views: 27.8 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ql7uY36-LwA
5. Clash Royale “Theme Song”
Creative Agency: Barton F. Graf
Views: 37 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xk_q3Zv_5w8
4. Samsung “Galaxy S7 and S7 edge: Official Introduction”
Views: 45.8 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyohHyQl-kc
3. Nike “The Switch”
Creative Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Media: Mindshare
Views: 56.4 million
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scWpXEYZEGk
2. Knorr “#LoveAtFirstTaste”
Creative Agency: MullenLowe
Media: PHD, Mindshare
Views: 60.4 million
1. Mobile Strike “Arnold’s Fight”
Creative Agency: 215mccann
Media: 215mccann
Views: 102.1 million
