In 2014, brands around the globe turned to YouTube as the platform to connect with their audience. To celebrate this amazing year, and gear up for what’s sure to be an even bigger 2015, we created the YouTube Ads Rewind video to celebrate just some of the great work done by brands on YouTube.
Three of this year’s top YouTube ads were World Cup- or Super Bowl-related fare, half of YouTube’s top 10 spots of 2014 were not designed with TV in mind. Heineken, Budweiser, Procter & Gamble’s Always and Duracell brands and 20th Century Fox’s film “Devil’s Due” each cracked the list with ads made originally for the web.
Check out YouTube’s 10 most popular ads of 2014 below:
1- Nike Football: Winner Stays. ft. Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Rooney, Ibrahimović, Iniesta & more
Viewership: 98M
Brand: Nike Football (Global)
Creative Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Media Agency: Mindshare Portland, Razorfish
2- Nike Football: The Last Game ft. Ronaldo, Neymar Jr., Rooney, Zlatan, Iniesta & more
Viewership: 73M
Brand: Nike Football (Global)
Creative Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Media Agency: Mindshare Portland, Razorfish
3- Budweiser Super Bowl XLVIII Commercial — “Puppy Love”
Viewership: 53M
Brand: Budweiser
Creative Agency: Anomaly
Media Agency: Starcom Mediavest Group
4- Always #LikeAGirl
Viewership: 53M
Brand: Always
Creative Agency: Leo Burnett
Media Agency: Starcom Mediavest Group
5-Devil Baby Attack
Viewership: 49M
Brand: Devil’s Due NYC
Creative Agency: Thinkmodo
Media Agency: Vizeum
6- Duracell: Trust Your Power – NFL’s Derrick Coleman, Seattle Seahawks
Viewership: 23M
Brand:Duracell
Creative Agency:Saatchi & SaatchiMedia
Agency: Starcom Mediavest
7- Galaxy Note 4 — Then And Now
Viewership: 22M
Brand: Samsung Mobile
Creative Agency: 72 and Sunny
Media Agency: Starcom Mediavest Group
8- P&G Thank You, Mom | Pick Them Back Up | Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games
Viewership: 20M
Brand:Procter & Gamble
Creative Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Media Agency: Starcom Mediavest
9-Global Be(er) Responsible Day | “Friends Are Waiting” | Budweiser
Viewership: 19M
Brand: Budweiser
Creative Agency: Momentum Worldwide
Media Agency: Starcom Mediavest Group
10- Heineken | Routine Interruptions | The Payphone with Fred Armisen
Viewership: 14M
Brand: Heineken
Creative Agency: Wieden + Kennedy
Media Agency: Starcom Mediavest Group
If YouTube’s top-10 list is any indication, advertisers are starting to realize what works online isn’t always what works on TV. They’re also starting to take advantage of digital as a way to shoot ads that would be hard to imagine ever airing on TV. And it’s paying off.
While TV ads are usually 30 or 60 seconds long, YouTube’s top 10 ads of 2014 averaged three minutes in length. That’s 47% more time per ad that last year’s top 10. Despite the length, the ads were able to keep people’s attentions. People spent 54% more time watching this year’s top 10 ads compared to last year’s crop. And this year’s top 10 ads combined for 425 million views, 112% more views than 2012’s top 10 spots totaled.
YouTube ranked the ads primarily based on how many paid and non-paid views they garnered and how much of a video people typically watched. It also considers other factors such as likes, shares and total watch time.
Many of 2014 most popular YouTube ads will never be seen on TV. That’s a big departure from even a couple years ago and suggests that advertisers are starting to realize that re-purposed TV ads aren’t their best options online.
