One out of every five videos we watched online in April was an advertisement, research firm comScore reported this week.
Sometimes it's unavoidable — the largest number of ads are shown on entertainment sites Hulu and YouTube, where they are often interspersed within the video we want to see. But we often watch, and share, ads or other public messages simply because we find them interesting. [ People Watch More Commercials, Thanks to Social Networks ]
A weekly chart assembled by online video research firm Visible Measures and magazine AdvertisingAge ranks the most popular online ad campaigns. We've collected five of the best ads from these charts over the past month.
Visa’s "Go World" 2012
The 2012 Summer Olympics are only two months away, and increasingly, advertisers are using the backdrop of the event as a theme. The top online ad spot right now is Visa’s “Go World,” which uses Morgan Freeman’s iconic voice paired with imagery of the games itself to encourage us to aspire to do more — and to spend more on our Visa card.
Kony 2012
Jason Russell and Invisible Children’s Kony 2012 piece about the plight of child soldiers and warlord Joseph Kony in central Africa has now been viewed nearly 90 million times, making it one of the fastest-spreading viral videos in history. The follow-up, “KONY 2012 Part II: Beyond Famous,” was released in April and has received 2.2 million views — far less, but still big for a typical video.
Obama 2012’s "Go"
It should not be surprising that one of the top viewed online videos right now is a political ad. President Barack Obama’s first re-election commercial titled “Go,” released on May 7, has already attracted 1 million views on YouTube. The ad attempts to show how far the country has come since 2008 and asks voters to give Obama a second term to finish the job.
Chrysler’s "It’s Halftime in America"
Chrysler’s apparent political overtones have made the company's "It's Halftime in America" spot a lightning rod for discussion. Actor and director Clint Eastwood stars in the spot, which aims to show Detroit’s rise from the ashes following the recession and bailouts of the auto industry. Months later, the ad continues to get plenty of views and still generates a good deal of political debate.
M&M’s "Just My Shell"
One of the most discussed ads of the Super Bowl uses a play on LMFAO’s “Sexy and I Know It” and the dance made popular in the music video to introduce a new M&Ms character named Ms. Brown. The ad has received about 3 million views over the past three months, making it one of the more highly viewed ads from the event on YouTube.