John Lewis’ Christmas ad has taken the top spot in YouTube’s UK ranking for 2018, beating out fellow Christmas heavyweights like Sainsbury’s and M&S.
The retailer’s ad, which this year starred Elton John, was placed top by an algorithm which factors in organic and paid views, watch time and audience retention, alongside total number of views.
Another notable entry on the list was Iceland’s ‘Say hello to Rang-tan’ advert which was controversially banned from TV for its political content (the ad was made in association with Greenpeace). Iceland’s spot ranked fourth on YouTube’s table, demonstrating the success of Iceland’s effort to spread its ad via social platforms through a viral marketing campaign, capitalising on the fact that it had been banned from television.
YouTube’s full top ten ranking is as follows:
1. John Lewis & Partners, ‘#EltonJohnLewis’, adam&eveDDB
https://youtu.be/mNbSgMEZ_Tw
2. Sainsbury’s, ‘The Big Night’, Wieden & Kennedy UK
3. Argos, ‘The Christmas Fool’, The&Partnership
4. Iceland, ‘Say Hello to Rang-tan’, Mother
5. Very.co.uk, ‘Find the Gift that Helps Them Find Their Gift’, St. Lukes
6. Cadbury, ‘Cadbury Secret Santa’, In-house
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxVxPLFtoNA
7. Aldi, ‘Kevin the Carrot and the Wicked Parsnip’, McCann UK
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=69Cg_ez7d1U
8. M&S, ‘Must-Haves’, Grey
9. Apple, ‘Share Your Gifts’, Media Arts Lab
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ftaJiGAt-IE
10. Amazon, ‘Can You Feel It’, Lucky Generals
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vUNLBv63WmM
