The 10 Most-Watched Indian Ads on YouTube in June 2016

Google India's Father's Day video tops the list.

Whenever I attend an industry event or talk with my peers from the online video space, one of the things that keep popping up in conversations is the exponential growth of internet penetration in India in the past couple of years. The increased reach of social media to be precise. I was part of a panel recently in an event where one of the hot topics of discussion was - Advertising in this new age. Most people I talked to were of the opinion that creating short-form advertisements is the way to go for brands if they want to reach out to the millennials.

The argument was that since millennials are on mobile most of the time and they love consuming short-form content, longer ads are just going to tick them off. The argument has its merits though. Someone pointed out that almost 10-15 per cent of data consumption on mobile is because of video advertisements. In a country like ours where internet bandwidth is one of the biggest deterrents for content consumption, that's a real problem!

The event was over and I headed back to the comfort of my home. Like every month, our data analysis team at Vidooly showed me the top video advertisements that were doing the rounds on YouTube for the month of June, and surprise, surprise! The best performing ad of the month was six minutes long!

Google India's Father's Day video celebrating the father-son relationship was right there at the top of the list with over eight million views on Facebook and YouTube combined! This just proves that good storytelling can still do the job no matter what the length of the advertisement is.

For now, here are some of the top performing ads in India for the month of June on YouTube:

Note: We have been tracking the performance of ads on YouTube for the past three months and there are a few brands that appear constantly in the list. These brands have a year-long advertising strategy, and therefore, would appear in the list every month. That's why, to keep the list a little fresh, I have excluded the ads by Airtel, Mountain Dew India, Lakme, and Hero Motor Corp in this list.

10. Launching OnePlus 3

With over 300,000 views so far, this advert showcasing the much-awaited phone from the One Plus family is at number 10. The 47-second ad has an incredible average watch time of 43 seconds, and with just nine dislikes, it is pretty evident that people quite liked it. Quite an old school ad with just background music and the visuals of One Plus 3; but hey, it does the job!

Video Stats:

Views: 315,825

Views per hour: 666

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 268/9/96

9. Raymond India Limited

Father's Day was a great time for brands to test their advertising skills. Raymond, with its famous 'The Complete Man' tagline, did a brilliant job this time around, dedicating the day to all the single mothers out there who take the responsibility of being a father, as well as a mother in raising their kids.

The 60-second ad created by Famous Innovations -- a Mumbai-based ad agency, has clocked over 450,000 views so far.

Video Stats:

Views: 489,391

Views per hour: 1248

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 587/188/1340

8. PNB Metlife - Anything Can Happen in Life

Funny and witty advertisements are always a hit with the internet audience. Insurance brands usually play it safe with their ads, but this one was a breeze of fresh air. Conveying a serious message despite a funny storyline, this one has been watched over 500,000 times on YouTube.

Video Stats:

Views: 541,541

Views per hour: 807

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 201/6/553

7. Thank You Dad by Bankbazaar.com

Bankbazaar.com does not do a lot of video advertising. You rarely see its ads on TV, and even on its YouTube channel, there are hardly any videos that can be termed as ads. This Father's Day, it did this touching ad of a father and son sitting by the fireside and talking about the importance of saving:

Video Stats:

Views: 807,105

Views per hour: 1754

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 182/4/352

6. Tic Tac India

For quite some time, I have been wondering why Tic Tac does not do a lot of video ads on the internet. Its target audience is mostly on the internet, and if you ask me, it should shift its focus completely to digital rather than TV. Its new ad has got over 820,000 views so far on YouTube.

Video Stats:

Views: 829,818

Views per hour: 1043

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 27/15/24

5. Spicejet TVC

This one's quite a predictable ad that has been doing the rounds on TV as well. However, it is short, crisp, and well-executed, playing the age-old men's innuendo card. With over 900,000 views, it is at the fifth spot.

Video Stats:

Views: 931,156

Views per hour: 3210

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 31/4/49

4. Scooty Gals - On Top of the Himalayas

Girl power - that's what this one's about. Clocking over 950,000 views so far, this ad showcases Scooty Zest and its durability even at high altitudes and rough terrain.

Video Stats:

Views: 961,261

Views per hour: 1204

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 65/8/96

3. Byju's

Whenever I used to travel to Bengaluru for work, I remember watching the ads of Byju's on hoardings and buses across the city. Good to see it try its hand at video ads now! Despite getting over 1.5 million views, this ad has almost an equal number of likes and dislikes. Though, the mood of the advert should probably be lightened up a little next time.

Video Stats:

Views: 1,664,295

Views per hour: 3295

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 38/35/5

2. Xiaomi India

The month of June saw quite a few new smartphones launched -- Galaxy S7 edge, One Plus 3, and Redmi Note 3. With foot-tapping background music and crisp editing, Xiaomi's advert for Redmi Note 3 has been watched over 1.5 million times so far!

Video Stats:

Views: 1,510,018

Views per hour: 1906

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 61/6/8

1. Google India

The best advert of the month (according to me, at least!) is rightly at the top of the list with over 4.5 million views on Facebook, and 3.5 million on YouTube! Featuring actor Vicky Kaushal (of Masaan and Raman Raghav fame), and Marathi theatre artiste Nandu Madhav, this touching story of a father's Bollywood dreams and his son's attempts at making them a reality was shared extensively during Father's Day. Created by the creative agency Lowe Lintas, this advertisement is testimony to the power of old-school storytelling.

Video Stats:

Views: 3,870,631

Views per hour: 8877

Likes/Dislikes/Shares: 16,884/1303/11,620

(The author is co-founder and CEO at Vidooly, a YouTube audience development and analytics firm)