Apple's iPhone 4S, Lady Gaga Top List of Most Viewed YouTube Ads of 2011

2:37 PM PST 12/14/2011 by Erin Carlson

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Absent from the list are game spots.

Given Apple's massive brand name and influence, it's no wonder an ad debuting the company's iPhone 4S ranks No. 1 among the most-viewed viral video spots of 2011.

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According to a new list from online video data-gatherer Visible Measures, via All Things D, a five-minute ad introducing the smartphone -- and its personal assistant, Siri -- garnered more than 28 million views this past year year. That number also accounts for unofficial uploads and web parodies.

Coming in second is a Google Chrome spot featuring Lady Gaga that scored 22 million views. The campaign, called "The Web is What You You Make of It," shows Gaga typing loving messages to her fans -- using Chrome, of course -- while "Edge of Glory" plays in the background.

Rounding out the list are ads for Youtube's Space Lab, Sony's Playstation 3 and a Sumsung spot featuring Youtube gaming sensation Freddie W. Not on the list, as observed by All Things D's Peter Kafka: such popular yet straightforward ads as Jonah Hill's movie-like cameo for "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3."

"It’s worth noting that Visible Measures’ methodology and classifications for this one are a bit particular," Kafka writes. "For instance, it includes ads for videogame platforms, but not the games themselves. There’s some logic to that, because while videogames have many, many more views, the bulk of them come from 'game play' videos that players upload themselves."