Nike, Coca-Cola and Amazon feature in YouTube's Cannes Lions 2019 ads leaderboard

The rankings are calculated by the site’s own usual signals of viewer engagement, including watch time, number of views, and the mix of paid and organic views. With the top three ads hailing from Egypt, Brazil and the US, the leaderboard indicates that the most successful creative spots are the ones gaining views across the globe.

YouTube's list also reveals an increasing appetite from viewers for long-form content. The top-ranking ads averaged one-minute-46-seconds in length with viewers frequently opting to watch beyond the first five seconds. YouTube said this signals a need for brands to think long and hard about how they develop a story to hold viewers' attention.

Roya Zeitoune, YouTube’s culture and trends lead for EMEA, said: “The Ads Leaderboard winners tap into the things that make for successful ads. Some evoke an emotional response ( like LG and Nike), others use humour (look at Amazon, Orange, Apple, Turkish Airlines and Bosch), or celebrities (see: Shopee, Nike, Samsung, Coca-Cola and Amazon), or a combination of those three elements. These brands tapped into some of the most effective ingredients for ads."

Scroll down to see YouTube's top 10 ads - some of which are in the running for a real Cannes Lions gong next week - in full below,

1. Coca-Cola Brazil 'Vai no Gás'

Taking the top spot is Coca-Cola Brazil's ad, which celebrates the energising effect of a coke’s signature bubbles. The ad appeals to Coke’s younger generation of drinkers by encouraging them to ‘go gas’ and live life to the fullest.

2. Amazon 'Not Everything Makes the Cut'

This year’s Amazon Superbowl commercial was also a hit for YouTube viewers, featuring a host of celebrities, from Harrison Ford to Forest Whitaker. The ad pokes fun at the popular scepticism around Amazon’s Echo and Alexa home devices, before revealing the tagline that, luckily, ‘not everything makes the cut’.

3. Orange 'Orange Go'

Starring Egyptian comedian Ali Rabee, this ad for Orange Go features a catchy tune to ask the question, ‘what can I do without my internet package?’ According to this ad, it appears the answer is, not much.

4. LG 'Complete Dreams'

Helmed by popular Vietnamese footballer, Nguyễn Quang Hải, the LG ad shows how one dream can be shared by 90 million people.

5. Apple - iPhone XS 'Growth Spurt'

Promoting the larger than life display quality on iPhone XS and iPhone XS Max, Apple’s ad jokes that whether it’s filming your baby’s first steps or chatting to friends on FaceTime, ‘everything you love just got bigger’.

6. Shopee 'Birthday Sale featuring BlackPink'

If you needed any more evidence that K pop is set to take over the world, then shopping app Shopee’s spot featuring Korean girl group BLACKPINK, with a cool 32 million views, is here to give it to you.

7. Turkish Airlines 'The Lego Movie Safety Video'

Reuniting the stars of the 2014 hit, The Lego Movie, this in-flight safety video from Turkish Airlines takes viewers through all the usual procedures of fastening seatbelts and securing oxygen masks in the same e-number fueled fashion as the popular franchise.

8. Nike 'Dream Crazy'

Nike made a controversial decision when they chose to feature NFL backer Colin Kaepernick in its ads earlier this year. In this spot, the football player famous for kneeling during America’s national anthem in protest of racism features, among a number of other inspirational athletes to say, ‘don't ask if your dreams are crazy. Ask if they're crazy enough.” Given that the ad has been viewed over 29m times, it appears that everybody’s risks paid off.

9. Bosch 'Like a Bosch'

In this comedic spot, Bosch highlights the range of its products and how it can enable every one of us to live like a bos(ch)s.

10. Galaxy Note9 'Fortnite Supply Drop'

Jumping on the bandwagon of international Fortnite-mania, Samsung sent supply drops to the biggest Fortnite fans in the world so they could see just how powerful the new Galaxy Note9 is.

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