Supercell’s “Clash Royale” video game had the most-watched ad on YouTube last month, with its “Epic Comeback” spot generating 16 million views. However, Apple was the most popular brand overall, with three ads in YouTube’s December ad leaderboard.
The iPhone X helped push Apple well ahead of the other brands, with its “Animoji Yourself” spot receiving 10.1 million views, the “Introducing Face ID” ad with 5.1 million views, and “Sway,” the brand’s holiday ad, which also featured the iPhone X, earning 4.9 million views.
The total view count for all three Apple ads amounted to 30.1 million, more than a third of the 87.8 million combined views generated by the top 10 ads.
Even though it was December, very few of the ads were holiday campaign spots. Apple’s “Sway” and the Elf on the Shelf music video, “Scout Elves Don’t Rest,” which ranked No. 10, were holiday-themed, but those were the only holiday-specific spots. (Google’s “Year in Search” could be considered holiday-themed, inasmuch as it could even be considered an “ad” since it’s an annual video Google creates to highlight the most popular search terms of the year.)
There appears to be an almost even split for views for the top half of the list compared to the bottom half — the top four ads earned between 10 million and 16 million views, while the ads that ranked sixth through 10th each earned 4 to 5 million views.
Top 10 YouTube Ads in December 2017
1. Clash Royale: Epic Comeback (16M views)
2. Google: 2017 Year in Search (12.1M views)
3. Apple: iPhone X Animoji Yourself (10.1M views)
4. Shell: On Top of the World #MakeTheFuture (10M views)
5. Pokémon GO: More Pokémon, More Adventure. Now with Dynamic Weather Gameplay! (5.3M views)
6. GEICO: Star Captain | The Lost Keys (5.2M views)
7. Apple: iPhone X Introducing Face ID (5.1M views)
8. Apple: Holiday Sway (4.9M views)
9. Adidas: Calling All Creators (4.8M views)
10. Elf on the Shelf: Scout Elves Don’t Rest Music Video (4.7M views)
According to YouTube, the 87.8 million views accumulated by the top 10 video ads accounted for 76.5 million minutes of watch time.
About The Author
Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.