What YouTube learned by analyzing over 8,000 top ads

YouTube recently analyzed over 8,000 top ads using AI to identify current trends in advertising. According to Anne Marie Nelson-Bogle, VP of Ads Marketing, key findings include:

• Increased representation: Brands are featuring more diverse characters and perspectives.
• Celebration of self-expression: Ads are focused on individuality and unique styles.
• Community-focused storytelling: Brands are emphasizing connection and social gatherings.
• Embracing magic and fantasy: Ads are using imaginative elements to spark interest.
• Partnering with creators: Brands are collaborating with creators to build trust and fan bases.

YouTube used Gemini, Google’s AI model, to analyze these ads and identify patterns and trends. It also uncovered hidden connections between disparate ads from Brazil, France, Germany, India, Japan, Korea, the UK and the U.S.

The analysis revealed some surprising insights into sentiment, themes, visual elements, language, music and cultural references.

Let’s look at these five key findings.

1. Increased representation

This year, many ads emphasized diversity, featuring characters in groundbreaking roles and highlighting accessibility. 

For example, “Javier in Frame | Google Pixel SB Commercial 2024” highlights AI technology that helps people with visual impairments capture life’s moments. It currently has 50 million views.

“A Personal Voice on iPhone | The Lost Voice | Apple” depicts a father in a wheelchair using his phone’s voice feature to read bedtime stories to his daughter. It currently has 18 million views.

“Mais Uma Canetada de Maybelline” features Ludmilla, the Brazilian singer who became the first Afro-Latina artist to perform on the main stage at Coachella this year, breaks barriers and promotes an inclusive view of beauty. It currently has 10 million views.

“Yes. I. Can.,” uploaded by Peloton, features characters with physical disabilities in physically active roles. It currently has 8.8 million views.

“Lidl Kids Team – UEFA Euro 2024” does something similar in a campaign to give children the chance to be an official UEFA EURO 2024 player escort. It currently has 5.4 million views.

Finally, “Mundo Nu, um mundo de N possibilidades #NuAcessível,” uploaded by Nubank, a Brazilian financial institution, features a sign language interpreter in the lower right corner of an ad celebrating its 10th anniversary. It currently has 638,000 views.

2. Celebration of self-expression

Today’s advertising highlights self-expression by celebrating individuality and unique styles. 

For example, “TISSOT | PRX 35mm – Off The Cuff Campaign (Cutdown)” features five Gen Z characters with distinctive makeup, hairstyles and vintage cars. It currently has 42 million views.

Audi’s “Living Progress” campaign in the U.K. highlighted singer Jorja Smith’s journey from barista to award-winning artist, turning her personal story into an empowering message. Unfortunately, the video ads are now private.

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3. Community-focused storytelling

Brands have also evolved in how they use storytelling to build community and connection, moving from virtual interactions during the pandemic to ads that emphasize deeper, more intentional human connections.

For example, BMW’s “Father & Son. Freude forever” shows a touching moment between a father and son. It currently has 6.3 million views.

On the other hand, “Sisters (Nintendo Switch)” highlights the bond between sisters and their family over a shared love for gaming. It currently has 352,000 views.

4. Embracing magic and fantasy

Creative teams are incorporating magic and fantasy to captivate viewers. 

For example, “이 맛에 겨울여행 하는거지(feat.맛잘알 7인),” uploaded by Yugiohtae, a South Korean hotel and travel booking platform, features dreamlike backdrops. It currently has 23 million views.

Meanwhile, “PEDIGREE – Feed the good” imagines a young boy creating a fantastical backstory for his rescue dog. This unlisted video currently has 15 million views.

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5. Partnering with creators

Brands are increasingly partnering with creators and using Shorts to build trust and connect authentically with audiences. 

For instance, check out “The Haters Upset: AXE vs Tom Ford.” The brand partnered with sports influencers to take a blind smell test during March Madness. 

Although Axe ran 30-second ads on linear TV during March Madness, the brand uploaded a two-minute version on YouTube that gave fans a longer look at the athletes’ reactions. It currently has 800,000 views. 

“The Shockingly Comfortable ABC Pant: Ft. Wayne Gretzky, DK Metcalf and Casey Neistat,” uploaded by Lululemon, features the leading career goal scorer, assist producer and point scorer in the National Hockey League; a wide receiver for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League and a YouTube personality, filmmaker and vlogger. It currently has 100,000 views.

Which one of these stars prompted the top comments?

Well, @jaymalone5172 says, “I’m only here because of Casey! Lol” 

And @therealnogues93 adds, “The person who ultimately cast Casey in the ad… give them a raise Lululemon.” 

Finally, @brennanspark observes, “Casey is the true star of this commercial. He’s the one that gets everyone to run to LuLu Lemon!” Any questions?

Traditional best practices

In addition to these novel approaches, YouTube’s AI analysis confirmed that traditional best practices remain effective. 

Effective ads consistently start with a strong hook, incorporate elements of pop culture, feature catchy music and use humor to captivate audiences. 

As innovative technologies emerge, brands will continue to unleash their creativity on YouTube, leveraging its unique attributes to tell powerful stories where viewers are most engaged.

YouTube’s methodology

YouTube is a unique platform that reaches engaged audiences across various formats.

However, understanding which stories truly resonate with these audiences requires more than a surface-level analysis of the video marketing landscape.

To uncover deeper insights, YouTube’s data scientists used Google AI to analyze 8,000 campaigns from top advertisers over six months. They identified hidden connections between unrelated videos from eight countries using a custom large language model. 

An algorithm then grouped these videos based on semantic similarities, yielding 750 insights per category before Gemini 1.5 Pro enhanced the findings. 

Gemini distilled thousands of insights into key takeaways, revealing trends, best practices and nuances that distinguish top-performing videos.

To put this effort into perspective, up to 152,000 brands from these eight countries uploaded 5.9 million videos to YouTube in the last six months, per Tubular Intelligence. This means YouTube analyzed just an extremely small sample of the best video content created by brands.

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