Cannes 2018: The 10 biggest YouTube ads since last year’s festival

These ads represent 563.5M minutes of watch time and 465.4M views for the whole leaderboard.

• Global success: the top three spots belongs to ads from India, Finland, and France, with the US and UK following, showing that successful ads are gaining views from all across the globe
• Celebrity celebration: this year’s list has some star power with Natalie Portman as Miss Dior, Amazon’s hit featuring Rebel Wilson, Cardi B, Gordon Ramsay, and Anthony Hopkins
• Heartwarming messages: LG, Budweiser and John Lewis tug at our heartstrings with emotional stories
• Games are making it big: with LEGO, Nintendo, and Clash of Clans, game lovers across all ages are choosing to watch these ads!

Charlotte Morton, Head of UK Ads Marketing, YouTube, said: “We looked at some of YouTube’s strongest signals of viewer choice like watch time, views, and mix of paid/organic views to determine the most popular global video ads since last year’s Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. In the last year, we’ve seen brands like LG, Budweiser, John Lewis and others create heartwarming video ads that don’t just generate impressions; they leave them. These are just some examples of brands that are tapping into YouTube’s storytelling power,”
“Congratulations to each of the brands, creative agencies, and media agencies on this list for creating the ads that were seen, shared, and remembered.”

Cannes 2018 YouTube Ads Leaderboard list and global views until April 2018:

1. LG Astronaut Brand TVC Ad Film – 20 Years Anniversary Story Video – Life Is Good 2017

Brand: LG India
Media Agency: Havas India
Creative agency: HS Ad

2. Clash of Clans: How Do We Get Over There? (Update Teaser)
Brand: Clash of Clans
Media Agency: In house
Creative agency: Barton F. Graf

3. MISS DIOR – The new Eau de Parfum
Brand: Christian Dior
Media Agency: Havas US
Creative agency: In house

4. Alexa Loses Her Voice – Amazon Super Bowl LII Commercial
Brand: Amazon
Media Agency: Initiative
Creative agency: In house

5. Samsung Galaxy: Growing Up
Brand: Samsung US
Media Agency: Starcom
Creative agency: Wieden+Kennedy

6. Meet iPhone X — Apple
Brand: Apple
Media Agency: OMD
Creative agency: In house

7. Jump Up, Super Star! – Super Mario Odyssey Musical
Brand: Nintendo
Media Agency: Blue 449
Creative agency: Leo Burnett

8. Budweiser 2018 Super Bowl Commercial | “Stand By You”
Brand: Budweiser
Media Agency: Dentsu Aegis Network
Creative agency: David

9. John Lewis Christmas Ad 2017 – #MozTheMonster
Brand: John Lewis
Media Agency: Manning Gottlieb OMD
Creative agency: adam&eveDDB

10. A Slimy Situation – Choose How To Save LEGO City!
Brand: LEGO
Media Agency: Initiative
Creative agency: RGA

Once again, YouTube’s dedicated Cannes website will have its flagship Google Beach, situated just a few minutes walk from the Palais along the Croisette (La Plage Barrière Le Gray d’Albion, Boulevard de la Croisette), which will host Lightning Talks, Creator Sessions, Demos, and more.

Based on last year’s success, Friday will be Pride Day at the Google Beach with a day of unique content, music, food & drink to celebrate the best of LGBTQ diversity.