Visible Measures Blog

As the battle for the smartphone and tablet market rages on, one of the most effective methods for reaching consumers is through video advertising. To show who's winning in this battle, we've produced the Top 10 Most Viral Video Tech Ads of 2012, based on our True Reach methodology.

Although Dirt Devil sucked up enough views to return to the No. 1 spot on the latest Ad Age Viral Video Chart, four new entries are giving the vacuum brand a run for its money.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- The homeless man with the golden pipes, Ted Williams, may be going into rehab, but the web still loves him. In his first real job after being discovered panhandling by the side of a highway, Mr. Williams gave some viral mojo to a typically staid Kraft TV ad, making it the sixth most-watched ad on the web last week, with nearly 700,000 views.

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Microsoft's Xbox concept, Project Natal, had the biggest surge in viewers this week (up 84%) thanks to an announcement, made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, that the gesture-control add-on would be available in time for the 2010 holiday season.

Seth Green's crying helped Butterfinger land second place on The Top 10 Viral Video Ads Chart this week. Dude Where's My Bar features Green describing the loss of his "lucky, vintage" Butterfinger bar, which he asks viewers to help find in a golden ticket-esque fashion. And yes, he really does cry. Aside from this main spot, the campaign includes a 'Seth Green Freak Out' asset, which has driven over 70% of the campaign's views this week.

Volkswagen's The Fun Theory is this week's most-watched viral video ad campaign. The DDB campaign, which asks "can we get people to do boring things if we make them fun?", has enjoyed a week of significant growth, jumping over 80% to surpass 2.4 million views. To date, the campaign features three spots, but has invited audiences to upload their own "fun theories" to add to the campaign. Of the videos released by DDB, Piano Stairs seems to be having the most fun, attracting the majority of the views for the campaign thus far. This also marks the very first time an automobile campaign has reached the top spot on our chart.

In a rare event, no new ads made the Top 10 Viral Video Ads Chart this week.All the brands, agencies, and ads have returned from last week, which begs the question: Where have all the new viral video ads gone?

With schools opening their doors across the country, it's no wonder that computer ads dominate the Viral Video Ad Chart this week. HP is at the top of the group with its You on You campaign, led by the singer Kenna. Reminiscent of Microsoft's I'm a PC campaign, You on You calls on HP users to upload videos about themselves for $300,000 worth of prizes. The only catch is that you can't show your face. In any event, the call to action seems to be working – user videos have generated the majority of the views for the campaign. It's in second place behind Evian's powerhouse campaign, Live Young.

After slipping last week, Evian's record-breaking Live Young campaign is back to reclaim the top spot of the Viral Video Chart. The mammoth campaign dropped 25% in views, but fell less than its closest competitor, Microsoft's Megawoosh campaign, which plummeted nearly 50%, 230,000+ views shy of Evian.

A giant has fallen in viral video. Evian's Live Young campaign, the most-watched of the year, has been dethroned by Microsoft after having maintained the top spot on the Chart for a record-breaking six consecutive weeks. Microsoft's Megawoosh campaign, featuring a death defying water slide jump, landed 2.2 million views this week, an increase of over 160%. The surge in views was driven primarily from the original video of the stunt, but was given a boost from videos of skeptical viewers questioning the clip's authenticity. Evian's view count, which has been steadily declining each week, rings in at 1.8 million.