When YouTube first rolled out their advertisements alongside their videos, it became a cumbersome addition to our daily entertainment.
To date, most would skip through ads at the 5 second mark, but YouTube gets around this problem by creating ads we cannot skip. As such, advertisements have now become so integrated into our YouTube viewing pleasure that sometimes we clearly don’t mind them at all—especially when they are this good.
YouTube recently released its top Malaysian YouTube adverts for the first half of 2016, and these are the 10 best videos thus far, in no particular order.
The Top Featured Videos
1. #PETRONAS Chinese New Year 2016: Rubber Boy
This Petronas ad grabbed you from the start with a mother slapping her son, Ah Hock. It then slowly unveiled the story of how the mother is undergoing much hardship to make ends meet and to provide her ungrateful son with the best she could offer him. The ad resonated with many because it showed how a little boy learned a life lesson by following his mother to work and seeing how it really is not that easy to earn a living.
Views: 3,400,662 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: PETRONAS
2. #HappyBeautifulYear
Watsons went with humour and some skin, featuring a cast of aunties and good looking youngsters. The aunties were inspired to pursue a makeover, when they saw how they could improve their looks and emulate the style and appeal of the youngsters. The aim of the ad is to give the aunties a makeover with products purchased from Watsons, and essentially to beautify them in time for the Lunar New Year.
Views: 777,502 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: Watsons Malaysia
3. McDonald’s Angry Birds
McDonalds went with the cute factor for their Angry Birds ad. It’s hard to click ‘skip ad’ when the signature character, Red, is ignoring the mascot of the Happy Meal package. Red goes about as usual, throwing a tantrum. Interestingly enough though, it is the Happy Meal character who finally cracks Red up with laughter, and safe to say, the ad ended on a jolly note.
Views: 2,779,554 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: McDonalds Malaysia
4. Promosi OLDTOWN White Coffee Junior Meal Series dan Boboiboy
Boboiboy is one of Malaysia’s proudest achievements in the realm of animation and in this ad, the main character is seen losing a fight due to hunger. He then proceeds to have a meal at Old Town White Coffee and is seen smiling and happy after. The ad which promotes the White Coffee brand also introduced a watch as their Junior Meal Series collectible, which is the purpose of the ad.
Views: 610,020 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: My Oldtown White Coffee
5. Filem Pendek Tahun Baru Cina BSN 2016: Pengacau Raya Cina
It’s hard to believe that a bank could come up with an interesting ad, yet that was what BSN did. The ad which went viral on social media was a continuation to the relationship between Zaitun and Aloysius, an inter-racial couple. The close-to-6-minute-long video documented the hardships faced by the couples’ fathers and how they ultimately resolved it over a game of ping pong.
Views: 439,007 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: BSN Malaysia
6. Fire – LEGO® CITY (Main 1HY 2016)
Adorable LEGO characters at the fire station are the focus of this 30 second ad. LEGO leveraged off of the cute factor with their ad, but went one step ahead in enabling their character the ‘gift of movement’. Everybody knows how LEGO figurines are stiff inanimate objects, but in the ad, they are whizzing about fluidly in LEGO City, and that made for a fun advertisement by LEGO.
Views: 1,169,445 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: LEGO
7. Samsung Galaxy S7 edge: Official Introduction
Samsung stuck with sophistication and style in their Galaxy S7 edge ad. Phone brands tend to stick to this formula as it portrays a classy appeal to its audience members, and Samsung is not one to stray away from that which is tried and tested. The first half of the video showed the phone with all its specs and glory, and the final half of the video showed people utilising the device, whether on a date or just getting a cup of coffee.
Views: 260,319 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: Samsung Malaysia
8. 聚香肉乾 2016猴年『新年道』
This ad by Ju Xiang played out like a typical gangster movie, and it even had its title card reading ‘Chinese New Year Affair’. The video portrayed the interaction between a cop and a gangster and started out all gloomy and dark, only to end with a lion dance and crispy chicken floss.
Views: 233,396 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: Ju Xiang
9. Romance of Heroes: Official Trailer
Gameview International produced a minute-long ad to promote its game, Romance of Heroes, and it displayed scenes from the game itself. Showing examples of the gameplay and the stunning graphics is a great way to grab attention, but such games seldom live up to the promise.
Views: 371,756 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: Gameview International
10. KFC Bucket Sensasi with Crispy Tenders
This KFC advertisement might come off as if the creators were being lazy, as it did not have a specific storyline. However, we beg to differ. Most ads nowadays tend to have a plot which engages with the audience and leaves one thinking, long after the ad has ended. With this KFC ad, they were confident enough with their signature product, which is the KFC Bucket Sensasi, to go ahead with a video portraying Malaysians from all walks of life, happily tucking into some good ol’ fried chicken.
Views: 340,845 (At time of writing)
Uploaded by: KFC Malaysia
The top performing ads for the first half of 2016 had been a mixture of tearjerkers, comedy, animation and feel-good videos. The ads give Malaysian advertisers a sense of what Malaysians are interested in watching and what generally does well.
It’s pretty clear that a good story and humour hit sweet spots for Malaysians. We obviously don’t mind a bit of product placement if presented to us in a compelling or engaging way. Localised content also makes it easier for us to relate to.
As advertisements are a huge part of branding, this is a good indicator of what will continue to do well, and what resonates with Malaysians, so much so that they are willing to ignore the ‘skip ad’ function on YouTube and proceed to enjoy a good ol’ locally-made advert.