YouTube Ad Examples to Inspire Your Next Ad Campaign

Running a social media ad campaign is a norm for all modern social media managers. Becoming among the best social media managers mainly revolves around the skills you accrue. You may be great at monitoring your channels and engaging with your audience, but as you step into a career in social media management, you need more. You must understand the tools and how they function, keep up with the ever-emerging trends, and know what you should leverage to run successful campaigns.

A successful social media manager can almost effortlessly design and run ad campaigns. This begins by picking the right platform and crafting engaging content that users can hardly resist. YouTube has been and continues to be among the dominating social channels for marketers. You’ll find all sorts of ad campaigns on YouTube, which is unsurprising considering the platform boasts over 2.5 billion active users.

About YouTube Ad Campaigns

YouTube's extensive user base and the billions of hours spent watching videos make it a prime marketing avenue. As of the first quarter of 2023, YouTube recorded over $6.5 billion in advertising revenues, vividly showing how much the platform means to marketers.  The best part is that YouTube features a wide variety of ad formats. The most popular options are:

• TrueView ads: Skipable ads that play before, during, or after a video. They are the most popular types of YouTube ads. The general rule is that you are only charged if the viewer watches at least 30 seconds of the ad.

If the ad is shorter than 30 seconds, you’re charged when a user views the whole video. Nonetheless, you'll be charged if a user clicks the ad even after the first few seconds.

TrueView ads are categorized into In-stream, skippable after five seconds, and discovery ads on the right-hand sidebar on YouTube search results pages.

• Pre-roll ads: The ads are similar to TrueView ads but only up to 20 seconds long. Viewers can’t skip these ads.
• Bumper ads: These are short, usually six seconds long, and appear before or after videos. They are unskippable, and their short and sweet nature, appearing as a bumper, makes them easily memorable and ideal for brand awareness campaigns.

YouTube ads can easily be targeted to a desired target audience. You can target demographics based on factors such as videos they often watch, search terms they use, interests, and behaviors. The targeting makes the ads more effective in reaching your ideal users. What is more, these ads can be a part of search engine advertising as you can boost best-performing ads to a wider audience. This makes YouTube ad campaigns effective, helping social media managers realize their goals.

Herein, we’ll look at some successful YouTube ad examples that can provide the inspiration you need for your next ad campaign.

1. Old Spice - "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"

Old Spice has had a range of successful video ad campaigns. What makes most of them stand out is their surreal and humorous nature. The Old Spice Guy addresses women in this ad but indirectly targets men. The ad creatively insinuates that using Old Spice body wash could make the man smell like almost anyone. The ad went viral, and its humorous and creative approach made it relatable and memorable. The ad has amassed over 60 million views on YouTube, a testament to how creativity impacts an ad’s reach.

2. Honey 2021 Big Game Ad: @MrBeast’s Mom Challenge

Influencer collaborations have been and will remain a huge part of social media campaigns.MrBeast, an influencer,  collaborates with Honey to make this funny and engaging ad. The humor, engaging graphics, and upbeat background music make the ad irresistible. It is also relatable as MrBeast, a younger generation computer user, shows his mom a valuable hassle-free tip to save more money when shopping online. The 46-long YouTube ad has amassed over 100 million views so far.

3. Mikkelsen Twins: Why Do You Not Know This?

Question and answer campaigns are intuitive, an approach that has given this ad an edge. The three-minute-long ad starts with a question, which triggers viewers’ curiosity. It then answers it with a detailed explanation, taking the viewer through the steps they can take to make money on Amazon. The information is helpful which can prompt the viewer to check their products. The ad campaign has generated over 20 million views so far.

4. Nike: "Never Too Far Down, You Can't Stop Us"

Nike’s winning edge is its inspirational approach. This ad follows the same strategy, showing people in their struggles and how pushing the extra mile when down makes the difference. The ad uses footage of top athletes at their lowest moments, describes their struggles, and showcases their ability to get back up. It is an emotionally charged and inspiring strategy that resonates with everyday struggles, a value deeply embedded in Nike’s brand. The ad has so far amassed over 29 thousand views on YouTube alone.

5. Amazon: Alexa’s Body ad

Bringing artificial intelligence to life, a product incapable of being touched, is quite challenging. Amazon found a way to hilariously and creatively bring Alexa to life. Amazon collaborated with movie star Michael B. Jordan, using him as Alexa’s body. It is an innovative way that leverages both the influencer impact and tapping into the users’ imagination. What is more, it's all about the new trend - artificial intelligence, so it's no wonder that the ad has over 78 million views, vividly showing how creativity and influencer collaborations impact content consumption.

6. Blendtec: Will It Blend? -iPhone

Blendtec runs humorous Will it Blend ads campaigns. In these ads, the brand uses unconventional approaches to demonstrate their blenders' power. They blend unusual items in this ad, for example, an iPhone. While no consumer would buy a blender to blend an iPhone, the ad successfully shows why Blendtec’s blenders are a top choice. The ads are a viral sensation, considering their humorous and unique approach. This ad alone has garnered over 12 million views, and users are most likely engaged, looking forward to what will go in the blender next.

7. Jeff Lerner: The Fastest Way To Become A Millionaire In The New Economy

When it comes to ads that bring results, modern consumers want solutions, not simply pushy ads. Jeff Lerner’s ad leverages this trend and focuses on presenting a solution to help viewers boost their incomes. The three-minute-long video ad highlights Jeff’s accomplishments, suggesting the viewer can replicate them if they follow the steps provided in his book. The ad has gained over 24 million views, evidencing how solving everyday pain points can drive more business your way.

8. DollarShaveClub.com - Our Blades Are F***ing Great

The ad’s humorous nature captures viewers’ attention from the first seconds. The ad then conveys Dollar Shave Club’s personality and value proposition. It shows how users can save time and money and still make an impact. The ad resonates with everyday users’ pain points, especially since it shows they don’t need a massive budget for certain things. The ad has so far won over 28 million views.

9. Purina Friskies: Dear Kitten: Regarding The Big Game

The ad takes a different angle, with the cat teaching the kitten the game plan. The cat narrates to the kitten the human behaviors during the big game and what they must do to win the “only prize worth competing for,” which is the wet cat food. The cuteness in the ad campaign is enough to capture viewers' attention. The ad has gained over 9.8 million views so far.

It's Your Turn to Create YouTube Ads that Inspire

As one of the most popular social media networks, YouTube still takes a place among marketers who want to reach a wider audience of potential customers/ With the growing number of competitors on the network, there's no better (and faster) way to promote your products and grab the audeince's attention to it than running YouTube ads that inspire.

Above are only a few YouTube ads that can inspire you to devise a practical strategy for your campaign. The bottom line is to tailor an ad campaign that matches your marketing goals and is aligned with your target audience's interests.

Now it's your turn to create YouTube ads that make people want to watch and copy them. Good luck!