Top 10 YouTube ads in February: Super Bowl brands dominate & Hyundai leads the pack

YouTube's February leaderboard was comprised entirely of Super Bowl ads, with Hyundai's three spots earning a total 52 million views.

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Last month, the top 10 most watched video ads on YouTube were all Super Bowl spots.

Hyundai topped the list with “The Chase,” generating 26 million views. The carmaker saw a combined total of 52.4 million video views in February, with three of its Super Bowl spots in the top 10. The brand’s “First Date” ad, featuring actor Kevin Hart, got 15 million views, and “Ryanville,” starring Ryan Reynolds, got 11.4 million views.

Hyundai was the only Super Bowl advertiser that ranked multiple times on YouTube’s February ad leaderboard.

Mountain Dew Kickstart’s “Puppymonkeybaby” may not have been the most loved Super Bowl spot, but it did its job, generating 22.7 million views to rank No. 2.

Other Super Bowl advertisers to make the list included Bud Light, Snickers, Skittles and T-Mobile — all brands featuring celebrities in their game day spots. Seth Rogen and Amy Schumer campaigned for the “Bud Light Party”; Willem Dafoe dressed in drag as Marilyn Monroe for Snickers; and Aerosmith’s front man, Steven Tyler, belted out the band’s classic, “Dream On,” for Skittles.

T-Mobile’s “Drop the Balls” spot starred Steve Harvey, ripping on his own blunder when he announced the wrong winner at last year’s Miss Universe competition.

With a total 136.4 million video views and 80 million minutes (1.3 million hours) of watch-time, YouTube says its February leaderboard is more evidence that the site “… continues to be the destination for people to find, watch and re-watch their favorite ads.”

Top 10 YouTube Ads in February

1. Hyundai: “The Chase”

2. Mountain Dew Kickstart: “Puppymonkeybaby”

3. Hyundai: “First Date”

4. Bud Light: “The Bud Light Party”

5. Snickers: “Marilyn”

6. Hyundai: “Ryanville”

7. Skittles: “The Portrait”

8. T-Mobile: “Drop the Balls”

9. Honda: “All New Honda Ridgeline”

10. Heinz: “Wiener Stampede”

On February 8, the day following the Super Bowl, YouTube released its top 10 most watched Super Bowl ads. At the time, Hyundai was already in the lead, with Pokemon’s “#Pokemon 20” and Mini USA’s “Defy Labels” taking the No. 2 and No. 3 spots, respectively.



Over the course of the month, Pokemon and Mini USA (as well as Doritos and Axe) lost their steam and failed to rank among the top 10 big game ads that made February’s leaderboard, with brands like Skittles, Honda and Heinz finding their way into the top 10.


Opinions expressed in this article are those of the guest author and not necessarily MarTech. Staff authors are listed here.


About the author

Amy Gesenhues
Contributor
Amy Gesenhues was a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. 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, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.

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