Google’s video round-up of 2011 was the hottest new ad in the IAB UK Ads Chart during December.
1. Zeitgeist 2011: Year In Review
Brand: Google | Shares: 501, 492
Google’s annual look at the most popular and fastest rising searches of the year was by far the hottest video ad during December.
From Rebecca Black to Dukan cupcakes, it's provided some fascinating insight into the cultural fads and trends that took over the globe over the last 12 months.
Directed by Scott Chan, of Whirled, and set to the Mat Kearney song "Sooner or Later", it attracted half a million shares on Facebook, Twitter and the blogosphere during December.
2. David Attenborough sings Wonderful World
Brand: BBC | Shares: 298,555
Now we all know David Attenborough for his incredible narration, but have you heard his singing voice?
Well, last month the BBC released a promotional video of the national treasure crooning away to Louis Armstrong’s seminal hit What A Wonderful World.
The ad, produced by UK agency RKCR/Y&R, has certainly had a huge impact, racking up almost 300,000 shares during December – and is still showing no signs of slowing down.
It’s not surprising it has been so well received. Sure, Attenborough, who has dazzled audiences for decades with his superb wildlife documentaries and his commanding voice, is incredibly popular.
But the video was also a farewell, the Frozen Planet series being his final appearance for the Beeb. At the ripe old age of 85, I think we can safely say he has served us well.
3. The Sloths Are Coming
Brand: Discovery Channel/ Animal Planet | Shares: 165,133
Forget kittens, there is a new adorable mammal in town - sloths, and they are not moving for anything.
Yep, sloths - those slow-moving, bug-eyed balls of fur that spend their entire existence lazily sleeping in trees.
It turns out as well as being incredibly lazy, they are also incredible cute, especially when they are babies – as shown by this ad for an Animal Planet documentary about a baby sloth orphanage in Costa Rica, which aired last month.
Yes, there really are orphanages dedicated to baby sloths. And when they are as cute as this, who can blame them?
In fact, I am thinking of jacking it all in and working there myself after watching this commercial – surely a contender for the cutest ad ever made.
4. Santa uses iPhone 4S
Brand: Apple | Shares: 106, 567
We all need a little help from time to time, especially when you have a busy day, or, in the case of Santa, one extremely busy night.
Thankfully, Father Christmas got some much-needed help during the festive period from the new iPhone 4S. Or at least he did according to a new ad from Apple to promote the new Siri feature.
The commercial, created by TBWA\Media Arts Lab, showed St Nicholas using the voice-activation assistant to help get him through a pretty heavy delivery schedule.
5. Ever Faced The Walk of Shame?
Brand: Harvey Nichols | Shares: 80,578
Harvey Nichols helped transform dreaded walk of shame into a stride of pride over Christmas.
The tongue-in-cheek campaign, created by DDB, London, urged ladies to throw away the Primark number they had lined up for the Christmas party and head down to Harvey Nics.
It certainly did the job, with over 80,000 shares during December.
From IAB
