John Lewis’s ad featuring trampoline-loving dog Buster has been named the world’s biggest Christmas TV ad on YouTube after beating rivals from the UK, Germany and Brazil. The retailer’s £7m campaign came top in an-all British top three that also included Burberry and Sainsbury’s.
The campaign, which sees Buster and friends playing on a trampoline, has so far attracted more than 21m global views on the video site.
The 2016 offering from Sainsbury’s, an animated West End musical-style story with James Corden on vocals, has so far amassed 13.4m views. Burberry’s film celebrating the history of its founder, featuring Domhnall Gleeson, Sienna Miller and Dominic West, has racked up almost 13.8m views despite not airing on TV.
David Black, the managing director of branding at the UK arm of YouTube’s parent, Google, said that it has seen a 40% increase in searches for Christmas ads this year compared with 2015. “They start searching before the ads are even launched on TV,” he said. “More brands than ever are making Christmas ads that users love.”
YouTube uses an algorithm to determine the most popular Christmas ads, which takes into account factors including how much of the video people watched, which is why Sainsbury’s ranks higher than Burberry despite having slightly fewer views.
The top five is rounded out by German supermarket Edeka, which has been accused of containing neo-Nazi symbolism, and a Brazilian Coca-Cola ad.
“It’s great to see UK brands leading the way with Christmas ads,” said Black.
Last year, Sainsbury’s Mog cat ad pipped John Lewis’s Man on the Moon ad in the same contest.
In 2014, John Lewis’s Monty the penguin ad beat Sainsbury’s controversial recreation of the world war one festive truce and football match between English and German soldiers globally.
YouTube’s most popular Christmas ads globally 2016
1. John Lewis (UK)
2. Sainsbury’s (UK)
3. Burberry (UK)
4. Edeka (Germany)
5. Coca-Cola (Brazil)
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