John Lewis’s ‘Buster the Boxer’ Christmas ad tops YouTube’s 2016 festive leaderboard globally
John Lewis’s ‘Buster the Boxer’ Christmas ad has topped the YouTube’s annual festive leaderboard globally.
Supermarkets and department stores continue to dominate, but luxury retailers like Burberry and pure-play digital companies such as Very.co.uk are beginning to muscle in.
As Christmas ads have become a key part of the holiday zeitgeist, much like the Super Bowl in the US, people across the world are turning to YouTube to find them with major increases in the number of views of the 2016 top 10 vs the 2015 top 10.
The leaderboard is ranked based on an algorithm that includes paid views, organic views and how much of a video people watched.
Says David Black, MD of Branding at Google UK: “We see people coming to YouTube again and again to look for their favourite Christmas ads. In fact, they start searching before the ads are launched on TV – we have seen a 40% year on year increase in Google searches for Christmas ads.
“Brands know the value of YouTube as the destination for Christmas ads and when they use paid, owned and earned media together, they see strong results. They see YouTube as a platform for creativity and storytelling, where they can harness the power of sight, sound and motion to connect with consumers.
“More brands than ever are making Christmas ads that users love. Now, the likes of H&M, Burberry, Coca-Cola and even Heathrow Airport are joining John Lewis and Sainsbury’s and performing brilliantly this year.”
“Here in the UK, Sainsbury’s quintessentially British commercial, playing on our love of stop-motion animation, has captured the public’s imagination. It’s great to see UK brands leading the way with Christmas ads, and exciting to see American, Brazilian and German brands tapping into this opportunity to put themselves at the heart of a global cultural moment every year.”