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Google’s ‘International Women’s Day’ spot was most watched ad on YouTube in March

YouTube's top ten ads in March earned 82.1 million total views, and Google's "Searching for Gender Equality" accounted for more than 40 percent of them.

Amy Gesenhues on April 13, 2018 at 12:46 pm

The top 10 ads on YouTube’s March leaderboard earned a total of 82.1 million views, and 35.8 million were generated by Google’s spot promoting International Women’s Day.

The “Searching for Gender Equality” took 43 percent of all views generated by the top 10 ads and four times the number of views earned by the second-ranking ad from Apple for its HomePod, which had 8.3 million views for the month.

Of the top 10 ads, six were evenly split between Samsung and Apple products. Apple had three ads in the top 10: one for the HomePod and two for the iPhone X. Samsung’s three ads to make the list included two specifically for the Samsung Galaxy S9 phone and one titled, “Make it Yours,” which was a spot promoting the brand.

There was a narrow margin between the number of views earned by Apple’s iPhone X spots and Samsung’s S9 phone spots. Apple’s two iPhone X spots earned a combined 11.3 million views, while Samsung’s S9 ads won a combined 11.1 million views.

One brand, XYZAL Allergy, made its debut appearance on YouTube’s ad leaderboard, squeezing into the top five with 6.3 million views.

YouTube’s top 10 ads in March

1. Google: Searching for Gender Equality | International Women’s Day (35.8 views)

2. Apple: HomePod | Welcome Home by Spike Jonze (8.3 views)

3. Apple: iPhone X | Unlock (7.8 views)

4. Samsung US: Samsung S9 | The Camera. Reimagined. (7.7 views)

5. XYZAL Allergy: Try XYZAL Free (6.3 views)

6. Samsung Galaxy: Make It Yours (3.9 views)

7. Apple: iPhone X | Fly Market (3.5 views)

8. Samsung Galaxy: S9 and S9+ | Official Introduction (3.4 views)

9. Realtor.com: Couple Tours A $4 Million Dollar Dream House (2.7 views)

10. GEICO: McGruff Fights Baby Talk (2.6 views)

According to Google, the 82.1 million views earned by the top 10 ads amounted to 74.5 million minutes of total watch time.

About The Author

Amy Gesenhues

Amy Gesenhues is a senior editor for Third Door Media, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land, Search Engine Land and MarTech Today. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs, SoftwareCEO, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy's articles.