Advertising surrounds us. And while sometimes ads are annoying, believe it or not, people also search online to view some of the year’s most compelling ads. Starting a new year is a good time to examine the winning campaigns from last year. The most compelling advertisements and videos are ones that have a strong story, humor, inspiration, and excitement. They build a bond with the audience, and inspire thoughts and action. It’s not easy to create a short video that engages audiences and inspires them to share the video and view it more than once, so it is worth examining the top ad videos from 2019.
Here are the most viral brand videos posted to YouTube in 2019.
- Not Everything Makes the Cut – Amazon Super Bowl commercial
- The Elevator – Hyundai Super Bowl
- We Believe: The Best Men Can Be – Gillette
- Introducing iPhone 11 – Apple
- The Internet of Things Presents – #LikeABosch
- Chance the Rapper x Backstreet Boys – Doritos Super Bowl
- Science Fair – Audi
- Change Up the Usual – Stella Artois
- Dream Crazier – Nike
- The 100-Year Game – NFL super Bowl
Remember, these are the ads that people choose to watch – a marketer’s dream! In total, the top ads generated 230 million views and 275 million minutes in watch time! (Ads are determined by an algorithm that factors in organic and paid views, watch time, and audience retention.)
Which ads did you watch online?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the importance of branding and brand management. How do the videos fit into branding?
- Divide students into teams. Have each team analyze one of the following videos with respect to target market, key message, type of appeal, etc.
- All ads are available at: https://www.thinkwithgoogle.com/advertising-channels/video/youtube-leaderboard-year-end-2019/
- When teams have completed this, have each team show the video and discuss their analysis with the rest of the class.
- What are the commonalities between the videos? What are the differences?
- What should other companies do to replicate the success?
Source: Think with Google. YouTube ads leaderboard: Global year-end 2019.
