German supermarket Edeka's Christmas ad beats John Lewis and Sainsbury's on YouTube

A poignant ad from German supermarket Edeka has become the most viewed Christmas ad on YouTube, beating John Lewis' annual tearjerker despite being posted just a week ago.

Edeka: the most viewed Christmas ad on YouTube
Edeka: the most viewed Christmas ad on YouTube

Edeka's ad, called #HeimKommen, or 'Homecoming', shows a lonely old man preparing to spend yet another Christmas alone, as his family drops out year after year.

The ad then shows the various children receiving the message that their father has died and gathering at his home. But they are greeted by the man himself, alive and well. He tells them, "How else could I have brought you all together?"

According to stats from Socialbakers measuring views between 1 November and 5 December, Edeka racked up 33.5 million views just a week after posting. John Lewis, in second place, racked up 20.6 million views.

European brands dominate the top spots, with Sainsbury's in third at 20 million views. But the rest of the top 20 is mostly rounded out by American brands. Here's the top 10 according to Socialbakers:

  1. Edeka

  • Target appears twice more on the list, while the rest of the top 20 includes Stella Artois and H&M.

    Coca-Cola takes 17th place, while Apple's Steve Wonder spot only makes number 18. Marks and Spencer's 'The Art of Christmas' campaign ranks twentieth with 2.3 million views after a month.

    Holiday campaigns do better on YouTube

    According to Socialbakers' data, brands' Christmas campaigns received, on average, 3.3 times the number of YouTube views than their standard campaigns.

    Socialbakers founder and chairman Jan Rezab, this down to the likes of John Lewis "pulling out the stops" for the end of the year.

    He said: "Marketers are putting bigger budgets behind their holiday videos, both in ad budgets to reach more viewers and also likely a greater spend in creating them.

    He added: "Some brands are shying away from making these videos too promotional or too blatantly product-oriented, which lends them to be more sharable and leads to more views."

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