The Top 10 Most Watched Indian Ads on YouTube in August 2017

If marketing wants to keep up with the shrinking attention span of today's netizen, it needs to adapt or die. This is why the list this month captures crisp advertisements that under a minute and fine-tuned for today's digital audience.

In terms of product offering and discounts, August saw a couple of new mobile launches from Samsung, OnePlus and Lenovo while e-commerce brands like Amazon, lured customers with their early August blockbuster sales/discounts.

NOTE -

• All the stats here are updated as of September 1st, 2017.

• Only advertisements launched from August 1st to 31st, 2017 were considered.

• The list does not include ads (about video content) by other content provider platforms like Netflix India and Hotstar.

• The overall audience sentiment mentioned below each advertisement is based on the number of views, likes, dislikes, watch time, and comments.

1. Samsung rolls out the Galaxy J7 Pro

Samsung launched its Samsung Galaxy J7 Pro smartphone. It comes with a Social Camera mode for instant sharing of all those capture-worthy moments and also features the revolutionary 'Samsung Pay' for instant payments. The unique features of the phone are showcased amidst the backdrop of a party which is quite typical to Samsung's advertisement style.

2. Introducing the OnePlus 5 Soft Gold Limited Edition

OnePlus introduced the OnePlus 5 smartphone in a Soft Gold Limited Edition option. It features the highest resolution dual-camera system available on a smartphone today, for what they claim will be clearer photos than ever before. The advertisement is an animated delight for viewers, Indianised in all aspects. Along with being visually appealing, it subtly showcases plenty of the mobile's other relevant features.

3. #HeroSalutes the heroes behind the heroes

Hero campaigns have always had an emotional touch. This campaign - #HeroSalutes - is no different. In this advertisement, the brand salutes the heroes who are away from their families protecting and providing the freedom that exists in our country. It showcases to the audience that behind every soldier lays the unconditional love and unwavering support of an even stronger family.

4. Presenting Lenovo K8 Note | Exclusively on Amazon

Lenovo launched its affordable, large screen mobile handset the Lenovo K8 Note. The advertisement highlights 8 key features of the smartphone in a simple yet intriguing product display format. It is longer than usual smartphone ads as it goes into the details of the features. An Amazon.in exclusive sale began on August 18th at 12 noon with the K8 Note starting at Rs. 12,999.

5. The 2017 Amazon Great Indian Sale | August 9-12

The Amazon Great Indian Sale gets bigger every year. This year it hit the World Wide Web in the early days of August to capture the Raksha Bandhan shoppers. The advertisement is focused on the middle-class strata who are always looking to get the best value from their smaller savings. The tagline - Choti bachat bahot ho gayi, ab badi bachat karo, aaram se - brings out the essence of the brand for this ad.

6. Dove Environmental Defence

Dove launched its new product that is targeted at young professionals who have to deal with environmental pollution in their everyday lives. Through the struggles of a Fashion Designer, the ad showcases a classic transformation perfectly depicting the effectiveness of Dove in harsh day-to-day urban conditions.

7. What's the secret behind Deepika's mask? #WHATISSHEHIDING

Asian Paints came up with a quirky campaign called #WhatIsSheHiding starring the beautiful Deepika Padukone. Deepika wears a mask while she's indoors at the gym, at a party, and at a shoot. She finally reveals the reason behind the mask citing that the air inside our homes can be five times more polluted than the air outside. With that, Asian Paints introduced its Royal Atmos paint range, an innovative product created to help purify the air indoors.

8. Hyundai | The Next Gen Verna | Bookings Open

Hyundai launched its Next Gen Verna in August. The sleek design of the car is supported with some thrilling visuals in this crisp 15 second advertisement.

9. Your car, your way. | Uber #ApniHiGaadi

Uber has always been innovative with their ad campaigns. In this campaign, #ApniHiGadi, they touch an emotional chord where an Uber vehicle is used as a symbol for love, laughter, memories, and stories. It portrays the everyday life of Indians and while showcasing just how Uber makes it more convenient for them no matter what the circumstance.

10. Dove's new range of conditioners

Dove is a very popular brand in India. In this advertisement, the brand showcases the key factors of conditioners that are specially designed with fibre actives and micro moisture to prevent hair damage and split ends.

(The author is co-founder and CEO at Vidooly, a YouTube audience development and analytics firm)