Top 20 Shared Video Ad’s for July 2014

History was made on the Unruly Viral Video Chart this month. After three-and-a-half years as the most shared ad of all time, Volkswagen’s ad ‘The Force’ was finally overtaken by Activia’s musical collaboration with Colombian pop princess Shakira.

The three-and-a-half minute video – called ‘La La La (Brazil 2014)’ and released in partnership with the World Food Programme – took the number one spot as the most shared video ad ever from VW’s 2011 Super Bowl commercial on July 30 after picking up a staggering 1,135,625 shares last month. ‘The Force’ has held the top spot since February 2011.

Shakira Video – See it here

Driving the success of the video is Danone yogurt brand Activia’s collaboration with the Colombian pop star, who recently became the first person to reach 100 million Facebook ‘likes’. During July, the pop sensation also performed at the World Cup Closing Ceremony and recently announced she was pregnant for a second time.

‘La La La’ is Most Successful Trackvertising Ad Ever

This ad is also the most successful example of a brand capitalising on the growing trend of ‘trackvertising’, where a brand and musical artist co-release a video which is both a musical track and advertisement.

The beauty of this new growing format is that unlike traditional ads, which tend to attract more than half of their shares in the first week before suffering viral decay, shares of trackverts and music videos are more spread out – giving these videos longevity. Indeed, Shakira’s video attracted only 26.2% of its shares in the first week. It’s why the video has been the most shared ad for the last three round-ups. Unsurprisingly, it’s not the only World Cup-related ad to make it on to this month’s top 20.

In third spot is a cheeky ad from German radio station Bayern 3 which perfectly visualises the World Cup winners’ 7-1 semi-final demolition of hosts Brazil. The short commercial certainly caught the mood of the German nation, generating 432,329 shares during July.

Germany Slams Brazil Video – See it here

FIFA sponsor adidas’ beautifully-animated ad ‘The Final’ is another perfectly-timed piece of real-time marketing to make it onto the top 20. Released to celebrate two adidas teams, Germany and Argentina, reaching the World Cup final and featuring tournament stars Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller, the moving commercial built up the excitement perfectly ahead of the final showdown.

The result is an ad that is more entertaining than the final itself, its 185,383 shares making it the seventh most shared ad of the month.

Addidas “The Final” Video

But it wasn’t all about the World Cup during July. Indeed, with the shin pads, balls and Luis Suarez’s bite-guard packed up for another four years, we saw some other sports getting a look-in. First up to bat was Major League Baseball.

Sporting ads have been getting more and more melodramatic in recent years, and at this rate will supersede HBO as the hub of quality broadcasting by 2017. Taking a page out of mothership Nike’s playbook, who’ve previously given the Meryl Streep treatment to Tiger Woods and LeBron James, Jordan’s ‘RE2PECT’ commemorates the New York Yankees’ legendary Derek Jeter with a series of celebrities cryptically doffing their caps. If you like baseball, this presumably means something to you. To everyone else – hey look, Jay Z!

RE2PECT – See Video Here

Another ad to make a big impression last month was a commercial from Thai mobile network dtac, which shows a new dad finally getting to grips with fatherhood. Ads from Thailand tend to make you cry and, although admittedly a little cheesy, ‘The Power of Love’ certainly falls into that bracket. By using the global themes of love and parenthood, it really struck a chord with a lot of internet users across the globe during July, its 335,341 shares last month making it the fourth most shared ad of the month.

The Power of Love Video – See it here

Meanwhile, LGBT+ rights got its first taste of fast food industry support in an inspirational stunt from Burger King. Coinciding with San Francisco’s famous gay pride parade, the brand announced the latest addition to its menu – ‘The Proud Whopper’. Cue hidden camera shots of curious (and sometimes implicitly homophobic) patrons enquiring about the rainbow-clad meal.

So what is in a Proud Whopper? After some deliberation over its secret ingredient, the customers soon discover they’ve fallen victim to a socially-progressive hoax. As the burger wrapper explains, “We’re all the same on the inside”. So, it’s just a normal burger. With its reasonably cute conceit, “Proud Whopper” certainly found a tasty middle ground between fast food and human rights, attracting 102,540 shares last month, making it the 11th most shared commercial last month.

Burger King Proud Whopper – See it here

Other new ads to appear in the top 20 include yet another Apple-bashing Samsung ad, an action-packed commercial for the latest game in the hugely-successful Assassin’s Creed videogame franchise, a Greenpeace video which calls on Lego to end its partnership with Shell and a hugely controversial spot for Russian beer Siberian Crown starring would-be Russian David Duchovny.

Top 20 Most Shared Global Video Ads – July 2014

1. Activia: La La LA (Brazil 2014) – 1,135,625 shares
2. Always: #LikeAGirl – 711,334 shares
3. Bayern 3: Germany is the winner – 432,329 shares
4. dtac: The Power of Love – 335,341 shares
5. Nike Jordan: Re2pect – 327,539 shares
6. Ubisoft: Assassins Creed: Assassins Creed And Parkour Meets In Real Life – 241,222 shares
7. adidas: The Final – 185,383 shares
8. Greenpeace: Everything Is NOT Awesome – 160,304 shares
9. Cornetto: Yalin – Aşk Diye – 122,419 shares
10. Volkswagen: Eyes on The Road – 121,266 shares
11. Burger King: Proud Whopper – 102,540 shares
12. Nike: The Last Game – 69,333 shares
13. Samsung: Wall Huggers – 67,512 shares
14. Siberian Crown: You have something to be proud of! – 66,550 shares
15. Samsung: Every Day Is Day One – 65,612 shares
16. Molson Canadian: Beer Fridge – 65,524 shares
17. Disney: Frozen – Sing-a-long – 65,508 shares
18. Cornetto: Yali – Yeniden – 65,401 shares
19. Ubisoft (Assassins Creed): E3 Trailer – 58,754 shares
20. Guinness: Empty Chair – 53,731 shares