In the 10 short years since its inception, YouTube has completely revolutionized online entertainment, reshaping everything from politics, to pop culture, to portrayals of unlikely animal friendship. Of course, when pop culture shifts, so too does the ad world. And this past year, 4 of the top 10 most watched videos on YouTube were ads.
In celebration of YouTube’s 10th anniversary, we asked you to vote for your favorite ads of the last ten years.
Here are your top 5:
Top 5 YouTube Ads
Here at The Webbys, we are consummate celebrators of the best videos the Internet has to offer. It was an honor to join our friends at YouTube to crown the greatest branded moments of the past decade.
Two massive sports superstars, one massive YouTube hit. This spot from Turkish Airlines pits Kobe Bryant against Lionel Messi in a #selfie battle of epic proportions.
A big congrats to Turkish Airlines and the creative masterminds at CP+B for making Kobe vs. Messi: The Selfie Shootout, your choice for top ad of the decade!
In 2nd place—Volkswagen’s 2011 Big Game spot, The Force. Starring a little boy dressed as Darth Vader, this ad was seen more than 8 million times before it aired on TV.
In 3rd place—Always #LikeAGirl. This ad, which clinched 2015’s Webby Agency of the Year for Leo Burnett, challenges what it means to do something “like a girl.”
In 4th place—Jean-Claude Van Damme’s epic split for Volvo. An epic Webby Winner for Forsman & Bodenfors.
In 5th place—Dove Real Beauty Sketches, a Webby-winning social experiment from Ogilvy Brazil, shows women what they truly look like.
Our partners at Google tell us that these five videos have been watched for over 7.7 million hours. That’s over 875 years that people chose to willingly spend watching ads. Whoa.
Thanks to everyone who voted, and cheers to another decade of great ads on YouTube.
Don’t forget you can watch all the highlights from the 20th Annual Webby Awards now!
