Marty McFly And Ads That Will Make You Cry: The Most Shared Ads Of The Month (October 2015)

October’s most-shared online video adverts anticipate the future, celebrate the past and showcase some of the best viral spots of the year so far.

In our top spot, Mattel revitalises an iconic toy with an updated social message in ‘Barbie: Imagine The Possibilities’.

Harking back to the doll’s inception in the 1950’s, the new ad re-frames the toy as an icon of professional possibility for girls everywhere. It’s also very funny, as we see young kids playing out the tropes of adult professions.

While it’s an incredibly simple concept – kids aping adults is obviously nothing new and a comedy staple that has delivered a number of memorable campaigns such as ‘Potty-Mouthed Princesses’ – the real fun of ‘Imagine The Possibilities’ is in its execution. With over 445,000 shares this month, Mattel has undeniably benefited from the #LikeAGirl effect.

At number four, we find another social web heart-warmer: Extra Gum’s ‘The Story of Sarah & Juan’. The brand’s latest ad is a variation on the style established in its previous campaign, ‘Origami’, and charts our eponymous star-crossed lovers as they meet cute, grow up together, face adversity and, that’s right, share plot-centric sticks of mint gum. If you doubted your ability to get teary at a gum advert, then think again.

Named by none other than the Daily Mail as potentially “the most romantic commercial of all time”, Extra Gum has done well to ride that social wave to over 150,000 shares in October.

Of course, the internet loves to invent holidays, particularly ones which pertain to ‘geek’ culture. Perhaps nothing fits the bill better than October 21st 2015, or unofficial ‘Back To The Future’ day. Commemorating the day Marty McFly time travelled to in the 1989 sequel, when hoverboards rule the streets and ‘Jaws 19’ is on general release, nerd-friendly brands joined in the festivities too.

Recalling their ingenious tie-in to the original film, Pepsi’s ‘The Future Is Now’ takes the wild hairstyles and retro-plastic aesthetic and applies it to their very own ad campaign. There’s even a theme tune, which rivals ‘Everything Is Awesome’ as a sugar-sweet earworm.

Meanwhile, Toyota’s ‘Back To The Future’ spot is a little more worthy, using cheeky appearances from Christopher Lloyd and Michael J. Fox to show off their nifty new hydrogen cell technology.

If the future of self-lacing shoes seems far away, ads in October were keen to remind us that gift-giving season is just around the corner. Video game brands, in particular, are eager to get the word out, with both Ubisoft’s new ‘Far Cry Primal’ teaser and Sony’s rather epic spot for Star Wars Battlefront both cracking the top 20. For the more sensible among us, there’s always a new netbook from Microsoft.

Wrapping up new entries in October, we find Walmart’s bid to support returning veterans in ‘Greenlight A Vet’ and an utterly surreal indie ad for a Southern law firm, known simply as ‘The Texas Law Hawk’. While it’s hard to summarise the charms of this spot, it’s safe to say it falls somewhere in between ‘Energy Noodles’ and a Chuck Norris marathon.

Meanwhile, David Beckham and Kevin Hart continue to chum it up for H&M, Android’s furry friends make a comeback and everyone’s favourite dogs stay in the picture for another month.

Most shared ads of October 2015