Key findings and our corresponding blog post are below and on the Official YouTube Blog.
- YouTube (and the rise of digital overall) has transformed the way we engage with the big game--from the game itself, to football-related content beyond the game, even to the ads
- The top 20 Super Bowl ads on YouTube, from the last nine years, have driven over 440MM minutes of watch time — the estimated equivalent of watching the Big Game over 1.8MM times.
- Among the top 20 Super Bowl ads on YouTube (2008-2016), February accounted for nearly 30% of the total new channel subscribers the year each ad was released.
- The share of Super Bowl ads released on YouTube before game day grew over 200% from 2008 to 2016, due to a combination of more advertisers releasing their television spots early on YouTube as well the growing popularity of teasers.
- Less than two years after launching, the NFL’s YouTube channel just passed more than 1 BILLION lifetime views. And NFL channel subscribers have grown 170% year-over-year to more than 1.7M subscribers.
- Football-related content is seeing huge growth on YouTube, with mobile and living room being key drivers of that growth
- Viewership of Super Bowl ads on YouTube via television screens has nearly tripled in the last year alone.
- Watch time for football-related content overall has grown over 90% year-over-year (including more than half of which happens outside of regular football season).
- Watch time of football fashion and beauty videos grew by more than 60% YoY during the month of the Super Bowl. (In 2016, the team with the most fashion and beauty videos is:Seattle Seahawks)
- Watch time of football-related recipe videos on YouTube has grown over 75% year-over-year.
- Watch time of fantasy football-related videos on YouTube has grown over 80% year-over-year.
- Outside the U.S., Super Bowl ad viewership on YouTube has grown over 28x since 2008. In 2016, the three countries outside the U.S. that watched the most Super Bowl ads on YouTube are the United Kingdom, Canada and Russia.
Celebrating ten years of Big Game ads on YouTube
Every year, a few Big Game ads stand out from the pack and keep us smiling long after the last play … like your daughter’s first date, that time Liam Neeson wanted revenge, or the year we met whatever this is.
Today, we’re kicking off YouTube Ad Blitz for the tenth time, a destination where you can come watch and vote for all your favorite Big Game ads. We’re also taking a look back at the top 20 Big Game ads from the past nine years that have stood the test of time. Collectively, these ads have racked up more than 440M minutes of watchtime along the way.
Of course as much as we love Big Game ads, they also represent just one slice of all the football-related content people watch on YouTube. Overall, watchtime for football-related content has grown over 90 percent year-over-year. Given this huge interest, it’s no surprise that the NFL’s YouTube channel, which they unveiled two years ago, just passed the 1 billion views mark, a huge achievement.
In looking at the ads that made our top 20 list, we noticed a few things.
The ad your ad could smell like: Iconic ads continue to thrive on YouTube long past their initial release. Some of the most memorable ads from previous years, like Old Spice's “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” (2010), Ram Trucks’ "Farmer" (2013) and GoPro and Red Bull’s “Red Bull Stratos - The Full Story” (2014) collectively garnered over 5M views in 2016, years after their original airing. And combined, these ads have driven over 92.5M lifetime views.
Advertisers use the force … of uploading early.Advertisers that upload early do better overall. The share of Big Game ads released on YouTube before game day grew over 200 percent from 2008 to 2016, due to a combination of more advertisers releasing their television spots early on YouTube as well the growing popularity of teasers. Among YouTube's Top 20 ranking, 90 percent of the ads listed were released on YouTube before the Super Bowl that year, including Volkswagen’s “The Force” and Budweiser’s “Puppy Love.”
Pokemon goes global: Just as the Big Game has become a global moment, so have the ads. Outside the U.S., Super Bowl ad viewership on YouTube has grown over 28x since 2008. In 2016, the three countries outside the U.S. that watched the most Super Bowl ads on YouTube are Canada, the United Kingdom and Russia. Some of the most popular Super Bowl ads internationally included: Pokemon’s “#Pokemon20: Pokémon Super Bowl Commercial,” Coca-Cola’s “Coke Mini (Hulk vs. Ant-Man),” and Heinz’s “Wiener Stampede - Extended Cut.”
Our full AdBlitz 10-Year Anniversary report is here along with the full list of the top 20 ads of the past nine years. We encourage you to take a look and come up with your own insights. And of course check back with AdBlitz before, during, and after the Big Game to see and vote for this year’s additions to the catalog of iconic Big Game ads.
The opinions and points of view expressed in this article are exclusively the views of the author and/or subject(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillage.com/MyersBizNet, Inc. management or associated bloggers.