Overtime? Game Day ads are still in play on YouTube

The confetti has hit the field. We all went Gaga. The Pats have come out victorious.

While you may not have seen that coming, we’ve seen our highest ever watch time during the game, with more than 350K hours spent watching Big Game ads, marking over 15 percent year-over year-growth. If your Game Day party was anything like ours, mobile also played a huge role - 70 percent of this watch time came from mobile devices. And this is just the beginning.

Historically, the day after the Big Game kicks off several weeks of watching and re-watching Big Game ads, so make sure you check out the tenth anniversary of the YouTube AdBlitz channel and vote for your favorite by February 10 at midnight PT.

We’re already starting to see some early favorites. Some with a fresh take on iconic characters, others that introduced new heroes. But the undeniable theme of the night was ads that connected to social and political topics -- in fact, these ads accounted for nearly half of the watch time on Game Day.

Here are the top ten ads so far (based on Game Day views as of 2/6 at 2 a.m. ET):

1. Budweiser - Budweiser 2017 Super Bowl Commercial | “Born The Hard Way”
2. Bud Light - Ghost Spuds | Bud Light Super Bowl Commercial 2017 feat. Spuds MacKenzie
3. Hyundai - A Better Super Bowl | NFL Hyundai Super Bowl LI
4. Kia - 2017 Kia Niro | “Hero’s Journey” Starring Melissa McCarthy
5. T-Mobile - T-Mobile | #UnlimitedMoves with Justin Bieber | T-Mobile Commercial
6. Tide - Tide | Super Bowl Commercial 2017 with Terry Bradshaw
7. 84 Lumber - 84 Lumber Super Bowl Commercial - The Entire Journey
8. Netflix - "Stranger Things 2" - Super Bowl 2017 Ad
9. Audi - Audi #DriveProgress Big Game Commercial – “Daughter”
10. Mr. Clean - Mr. Clean | New Super Bowl Ad | Cleaner of Your Dreams

Interest in commercials didn’t stop at YouTube either. Of the top trending Google Search questions during the game, three were about the ads:

1. How old is Lady Gaga?
2. How does overtime work in NFL?
3. Who owns Alfa Romeo?
4. What is 84 Lumber?
5. How many “Pirates of the Caribbean” are there?

The Big Game may have been called, but the battle for top ad is still in play. Check back next week to find out this year’s winner of YouTube AdBlitz!

Deborah Powsner, YouTube Ads Marketing, recently watched “Patriots vs. Falcons | Super Bowl LI Game Highlights.”