Welcome to OCOCO Media’s Online Video Hall of Fame, a collection of our favourite ads that took the internet by storm with their creativity, enthusiasm and genius.
From hilarious skits to real-life stories that tug on your heartstrings, each ad is a prime example of how with a solid idea, a clean execution and a relevant, creative strategy, brands can create online videos that stand the test of time. Let’s dive in…
Nike | Dream Crazy
Is Nike the GOAT of online video? They may have reached the peak of the advertising mountain with ‘Dream Crazy’, released in 2018. Highlighting extraordinary people doing extraordinary things, and featuring a cast of famous faces, this ad epitomises Nike’s strategy of demonstrating the emotions of sports with competition, determination, achievement, and fun.
Norwich City | Check In On Those Around You
Shared by Norwich City FC on their social media platforms for World Mental Health Day 2023, this thought-provoking video was produced in collaboration with Samaritans. Maintaining a two-shot throughout the whole ad, the audience are misled to thinking the quieter fan is the one struggling. However the impactful shot at the end highlights that sometimes the signs are harder to spot.
Pinkfong | Baby Shark Dance
The most viewed YouTube video of all time is… Baby Shark! With over 14 billion views to date, South Korean education brand Pinkfong’s viral video proves that no music artist in the world can overpower the appeal of repetitive children’s videos. The popularity of the video inspired an online dance craze and even evolved into a TV show.
BTS | Permission To Dance Performed at the United Nations General Assembly
How can an international diplomatic and political association gain the attention of young people all over the world? Collaborate with the biggest boy band on the planet! In 2021, K-Pop sensations BTS performed in a video at the United Nations. It was a brilliant tactic by the band and the UN to draw audiences attention to Sustainable Development Goals. This may be one of the highest profile collaborations of all time and it certainly had the desired impact with over 92 million views on YouTube.
Metro Trains | Dumb Ways To Die
Made by Metro Trains in 2012, Dumb Ways To Die was a campaign to promote railway safety in Melbourne, Australia. The video went viral on social media after its release and a matching mobile game followed. The campaign engaged audiences by avoiding any kind of safety message at the start of the video, which they would usually just ignore. Metro Trains estimated that the campaign contributed to a 20 per cent reduction in “near-miss” accidents.
Hoonigan - Gymkhana
This viral video series changed automotive filmmaking forever. With well over 550 million views for the series to date, Ken Block’s Gymkhana began as a way for the rally driver to hone his skills. From smashing glass to explosions, this series made advertising exciting in a way that automotive brands have been attempting to replicate ever since.
TED Talks
As the original online video institution, TED Talks have been offered for free viewing online since 2006. Although the format has changed and developed over the years, TED Talks are essentially videos that present a great idea in 18 minutes or less. According to TED themselves, the talks are now viewed or listened to more than 3 billion times annually. These videos have become hugely popular over the years due to fascinating topic choices and a keen interest in learning.
Dove | Real Beauty Sketches
If I asked you to describe yourself, what would you say? Inspired by a staggering statistic that suggests only 4% of women consider themself beautiful, Dove’s ‘Real Beauty Sketches’ ad encourages us to reimagine our perception of beauty and see ourselves through a stranger’s kinder eyes, free of insecurity. As a daring instalment in the empowerment-driven ‘Dove Campaign for Real Beauty’ series, the ad uses a curtain and an FBI-trained forensic artist to give women’s self-esteem a serious boost. No wonder it racked up 50 million views within 12 days of its release in 2013!
Girls. Girls. Girls. Magazine | Be a Lady They Said
Set against a backdrop of glamorous fashion videos, Hollywood film clips and contemporary news footage (with lots of familiar faces), this viral ad offers the justified rantings of everyday, frustrated women, channelled through the iconic voice of Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon. Written by Claire Rothstein, the ad presents a brazen poem that unapologetically puts the male gaze under a microscope, picking apart each contradiction and impossible beauty standard it projects onto women. Targeted towards the #MeToo generation, it became an overnight online sensation.
Blendtec | Will it Blend?
If a "don’t try this at home" warning was an online video, it would look something like Blendtec’s ‘Will it Blend?' series. In an attempt to demonstrate his products’ incredible durability, Blendtec’s Founder, Tom Dickson, created the series to put his blenders to the ultimate test. Spanning over 14 years, the series has famously blended iPhones, keys, explosives and just about anything you can think of! Fun and incredibly entertaining, the videos will lead you down a Blendtec YouTube rabbit hole that will have you running straight to the shop to get one for yourself.
Buzzfeed | Make it Fancy
Food lovers, this one’s for you! Posted on Tasty’s YouTube channel, Buzzfeed’s ‘Make it Fancy’ series offers a masterclass in creating wacky, engaging video content. In each episode, Chef Rie McClenny challenges herself to give ordinary, familiar foods a glow up by adding other elements to elevate each dish. Think goodbye McDonald’s, hello Michelin Star. From supermarket crisps to popular sweets, each episode is full of cooking expertise and lots of laughs.
Chevrolet | Chevy True Stories
Chevrolet’s ‘True Stories’ ad showcases the immense power of storytelling in videos. In this touching story, Herb Younger is reunited with his beloved 1965 Impala SS that he sold in the 1980s to pay for his children's education. The ad captures their unexpected reunion, depicting not only his lifelong love for the Chevrolet brand, but his emotional connection to the car. Heartwarming and incredibly uplifting, it’s one of our favourites!
Dollar Shave Club | Our Blades are F***ing Great
Dollar Shave Club’s iconic inaugural ad is proof that if you have a genuinely good product, you don’t need to be a flashy Oscar-winning director to create a viral online video; all you need is a camera, a few charismatic employees and a witty script. A grizzly bear costume may be useful too! The genius of this ad is that it mimics the brand’s no frills approach to purchasing shaving products, giving their target audience all the information they need with zero fuss and maximum transparency.
Ice Bucket Challenge
If you didn’t see or participate in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in the summer of 2014, you must have been living on Mars. Famed as the original ‘viral video’, the challenge became a global hit on Facebook, encouraging people to upload videos of themselves pouring of a bucket of icy water over their head to promote awareness of ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Over 17 million people, including a list of famous celebrities, joined in on the fun and posted their own video online, resulting in an estimated $220 million in global charity donations. To this day, it’s regarded as the world’s largest social media phenomenon.
That’s a wrap!
To learn more about creating your very own successful online video, explore our Social Media Video Academy blog series. It’s packed full of useful tips and tricks that will help you film some incredible content and make your brand stand out online.