Top 10 YouTube ads in October: Google & Microsoft take the lead, but overall video views are down

Total video views for the top 10 ads dropped significantly in October -- bringing in a combined 47.6 million last month compared to 75.1 million in September.

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While Google and Microsoft took the lead on YouTube’s October ad leaderboard, the site saw a significant decline in total views for its most popular ads last month compared to September.

In September, YouTube’s top 10 ads generated a combined 75.1 million views, but last month’s most watched ads on YouTube only brought in 47.6 million video views — a nearly 45-percent drop.

At number one, Google’s ad for its new Pixel phone earned 11.2 million views, followed by Microsoft’s new product ad for the Surface Studio, which generated 8.5 million views.

Veteran YouTube ad leaderboard brand Clash Royale earned two spots on the list — at No. 3 and No. 10 — earning the company behind the video game Supercell 6.7 million total views.

Two political spots also made the list. The “Please Re-Elect Gerald” spot — an ad for an incumbent candidate running for county commissioner in Travis County, Texas – went viral last month, earning the politician 3.4 million views. Another video from the Donald J. Trump for President campaign, highlighting “Moderator Fails” during the Presidential debates, ranked No. 8 with 1.7 million views.

YouTube says the top 10 ads generated 65.3 million minutes — or 1.1 million hours — of watch time.

YouTube’s Top 10 ads in October

1. Google: Introducing Pixel (11.2M views)

https://youtu.be/Rykmwn0SMWU

2. Microsoft: Introducing Microsoft Surface Studio (8.5M views)

https://youtu.be/BzMLA8YIgG0

3. Clash Royale: Theme Song — Official TV Commercial (5.6M views)

https://youtu.be/xk_q3Zv_5w8

4. Apple: The new MacBook Pro featuring Touch Bar (5M views)

https://youtu.be/4BkskUE8_hA

5. GoPro: GoPro HERO5 + Karma — The launch in 4K (3.6M views)

6. Gerald Daugherty Campaign: Please Re-Elect Gerald (3.4M views)

7. BMW: The Escape (2.5M views)

https://youtu.be/jzUFCQ-P1Zg

8. Donald J. Trump for President: Moderator Fail (1.7M views)

https://youtu.be/N5kp3WYniRQ

9. Vitafusion w/BuzzFeed: Indoor People Try Spending a Day Outside (1.5M views)

10. Clash Royale: The Prince (1.5M views)

https://youtu.be/z0J9bISidsg


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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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