The most watched video on YouTube this year belonged to Samsung India Services. The spot — “We’ll Take Care of You Wherever You Are” — generated 150.3 million views.
YouTube has released its 2017 ad leaderboard, ranking the most watched YouTube ads round the globe, along with the top trending videos of the year.
Three of the ads to rank on YouTube’s end of year ad leaderboard were Super Bowl spots: Budweiser’s “Born the Hard Way,” Kia’s “Hero’s Journey,” and Mr. Clean’s “Cleaner of Your Dreams.” YouTube says eight of the ten most watched ads featured story-driven narratives told by celebrities like actors Dwayne Johnson and Natalie Portman.
“No longer constrained by traditional ad lengths, ads are becoming the new cinema, with the videos on this year’s list totaling more than double the total time of last year’s top ads,” says YouTube.
According to YouTube, Dude Perfect’s “Ping Pong Trick Shots 3,” which ranked No. 3, saw the highest engagement of all the ads with three million likes and 393,000 comments. (YouTube says the median number of likes for the top ten global ads was 59,000, and the median number of comments was 5,000.)
Compared to last year, YouTube found this year’s top ads were more likely to take a stand on socio-political issues, with seven of the top ten spots created around themes of inclusion, diversity or empowerment. (Only two of 2016’s top ten ads took a stand attached to social issues.)
YouTube’s Top 10 Ads of 2017
1. Samsung India Services: We’ll take care of you wherever you are (150.3M views)
2. Clash Royale: The Last Second (110.7M views)
3. Dude Perfect: Ping Pong Trick Shots 3 (90.6M views)
4. Miss Dior: The new Eau de Parfum (43.0M views)
5. Budweiser: Born the Hard Way | 2017 Super Bowl ad (28.5M views)
6. Kia: Hero’s Journey | 2017 Super Bowl ad (25.9M views)
7. Adidas: Original is never finished (25.4M views)
8. Apple iPhone 7: The Rock x Siri Dominate the Day (25.3M views)
9. Levi’s: Circles (22.3M views)
10. Mr. Clean: Cleaner of Your Dreams | 2017 Super Bowl ad (17.6M views)
Of the top ten most watched ads of 2017, Dude Perfect’s “Ping Pong Trick Shots 3” was the only spot to also make it into YouTube’s top ten trending videos for the year.
Ed Sheeran was especially popular in 2017, with two videos in the top trending list: a video for his “Shape of You” song and his Carpool Karaoke session with James Corden.
YouTube says the top ten trending videos for the year garnered more than 633 million views combined, and more than 40 million hours of watch-time. The channels behind the top ten trending videos represent more than 55 million subscribers total.
YouTube’s Top Trending Videos of 2017
1. Oyster Masked: Until We Become Dust
2.Ed Sheeran: Shape of You | Kyle Hanagami Choreography
3. Dude Perfect: Ping Pong Trick Shots 3
4. America’s Got Talent: 12-year-old Darci Lynne singing ventriloquist act
5. Late Night Show with James Corden: Ed Sheeran Carpool Karaoke
6. NFL: Lady Gaga’s FULL Pepsi Zero Sugar Super Bowl LI Half-time Show
7. Bad Lip Reading: Inauguration Day
8. Bill Wurtz: History of the World, I Guess
9. Beth David & Esteban Bravo: In a Heartbeat Animated Short Film
10. BBC News: BBC News Reporter interrupted by his child
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.