Sport.co.uk was honoured to be invited down to the Internet Advertising Bureau headquarters for the launch of the IAB’s/ Unruly Media's UK Chart – and we can report back that the number one viral of the year owes its success to a certain Manchester United footballer.
Rapping hamsters, a talking pig, a man blending an iPad – these were just some of the oddities lying in wait amongst the final top 20, which were screened exclusively at the end of the evening.
After a reception of drinks, snacks and good old-fashioned mingling, we were shown a splendidly put together montage by Unruly of this year in online video. Why, here it is...
Watching this, it occurs to one just how all-encompassing and downright magnificent a phenomenon online video has become. After all, how much hilarity, absurdity and poignancy has been injected into your year via the medium of YouTube links and the like? Quite possibly more than you think.
As mentioned, the evening’s entertainment ended with an exclusive countdown of the year’s top 20 viral ads – and who should we find perched (and bearded) at the summit but a certain Wayne Rooney?
Yes, the number one spot was bagged by Nike’s Write the Future campaign, which featured Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Didier Drogba, Franck Ribery and Fabio Cannavaro.
Helmed by Hollywood director Alejandro González Iñárritu, it was launched just before the summer’s World Cup in South Africa. The video was shared almost 600,000 times on Twitter, Facebook and the blogosphere. This be it:
Click here to watch the top 20 in full. You’ll be in for a treat if you do as the majority are flavoured with humour. Sport.co.uk would like to flag number 9 as our own particular favourite but we probably shouldn’t go into describing the finer details of it in the interests of decency. The Nolan’s Cheddar ad reserved as a special mention is also a corker.
Sport.co.uk would like to extend a laurel and hardy thanks to the good folk at Unruly and the IAB for a splendid evening’s entertainment. Here is a little bit about them:
About Unruly Media
Unruly Media feeds videos into the social web. The company specialises in seeding, spreading, disseminating, diffusing, distributing and otherwise promoting online video content.
Unruly Media works not only on classic viral video campaigns, but also help disseminate movie trailers, TV ads, game footage, web shows and other forms of branded entertainment within social media.
Unruly Media has bought, earned, and audited over a billion user-intended views. Campaigns such as T-Mobile’s Dance and Evian’s Roller Babies have clocked up literally tens of millions of views and continue to amass views, comments, and links months after the campaign has officially ended.
About the IAB
The Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) is the trade association for digital advertising. With over 640 members, it's run for the leading media owners and agencies in the UK internet industry. Online is an exciting and fast-growing medium and our job at the IAB is to work with members to ensure marketers can identify the best role for online and the emerging mobile market, helping them engage their customers and build their brands.
Through the dissemination of research and the organisation of regular events, we aim to put digital on the agenda of every marketer in the UK, acting as an authoritative and objective source for all internet advertising issues whilst promoting industry-wide best practice.