On a very simple level we all need to understand why people use YouTube, what they view and why they share. Fundamentally, it’s not what a piece of film says about a brand that makes people share it. It’s what it says about the consumer as a person, or more accurately, what the consumer wants people to think about them as a person. And retailers need to respect that and not use YouTube to force selling messages at people in the wrong channels.

The evian ad has had an extraordinary 64 million views. No overblown seeding strategy to inflate the numbers and flatter the agency, just an age old truth that babies work in advertising, particularly cute dancing ones. Especially when they bring the concept of ‘live young’ to life in a fun, shareable way. Add a clever app to ‘baby’ yourself and you have an engaging modern communications campaign based on the oldest insight in the book.

The John Lewis ad uses beautiful animation and great music to celebrate the spirit of giving at Christmas. Again, a simple ‘old school’ insight about the joy of gifting delivers something that anyone with a heart (or a kid) would be happy to share with their whole social network. No hard sell, no push, just elegant emotional connection.

Three’s dancing pony uses a gentle approach to encourage us to use the internet more on our mobile devices. There are no tariffs or push to store, because people know how to use Google. Instead they throw in a little hashtag to take us to an app where we can design our own pony and share it. Once again, a smart insight brought to life in a charming, non pushy way.

Dove also creates an emotional connection, but on a much deeper level. It took something significant for 60 million people to share this film. It told a truth about the importance of self esteem, and provided a valuable message that we should all share and support. No dancing babies, no animation, no animals, no tricks, just intelligence, insight and integrity.

Honda’s ‘Hands’ film uses YouTube well. It’s intriguing and ingenious and encourages us to go deeper to learn more, rewarding us for our curiosity. It didn’t try to do everything at once, but understood the mind of the consumer and took them on a nice journey. Smart, simple and rewarding.

As for O2’s advert – people like cats. What more can I say?

By Logan Wilmont (ECD, Cheil UK) via RetailWeek