Valentine's Day: The 10 most-shared romantic ads ever

1. Vodafone Red – Kiss (2013) (Above)
144,725 shares all time
764,416 views on YouTube

In a moodily shot and scored 90-second spot, a young girl and boy are seen having their first kiss down the bottom of the garden. After sharing their moment the couple morphs into a young couple, then a slightly older one, with the kiss getting progressively more passionate, before the lovers become old and grey-haired, but with no signs of their rampancy abating. "Good things should last forever," the copy reads.

 

2. Google – Parisian Love (2009)
109,505 shares all time
7,434,364 views on YouTube

A love story pithily told by an unseen protagonist entering search terms into Google is the basis of an ad for the search engine. Lines such as "impress a French girl", "long-distance relationship advice", "directions [from US to Paris]", "churches in paris" and "how to assemble a crib" chart the romance’s progression; although it’s not clear what sort of crib requires a Google search for instructions.

 

3. KFC – Love is forever (2011)
109,504 shares all time
639,749 views on YouTube

The ad is similar to the Vodafone one above, except in reverse chronology. The action starts with a group of kids eating a KFC outside, while an old lady walks out on to her balcony and sniffs the air approvingly. She returns inside, dances with her husband and as the two of them bob and pirouette, they grow younger and younger, before transforming into two children lying on a bed. "I’m hungry," the little girl says, before the camera pulls back to, rather weirdly, reveal a sticker on the side of a dressing table bearing the face of the 'Colonel' and the words: "So Good".

 

4. Heineken – The Date (2011)
86,556 shares all time
10,624,862 views on YouTube

A young couple go on a groovy date, dancing and carousing to the beat of a funky band. That’s this ad in a nutshell.

 

5. Chevy Silverado – Romance (2014)
84,584 shares all time
5,461,335 views on YouTube

Last year’s Chevrolet Superbowl ad depicts a man, his pickup and a randy bull. The man loads the bull onto a trailer after buying it at a market. "A man and his truck," the voiceover says. "A man, his truck and a very eligible bachelor." The lonely duo’s journey across US states is depicted via a montage and accompanied by the soul tones of Hot Chocolate’s ‘You Sexy Thing’. The ad pair eventually arrive at a farm, where the bull is released to impregnate some lady cows. "And... Hello ladies!" says the voiceover.

 

6. Chanel – No 5 The Film (2004)
55,476 shares all time
3,265,000 views on YouTube

Directed by flamboyant Australian filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, the epic No 5 The Film cost a reported $42 million to make, a figure reflected in the calibre of its star Nicole Kidman and the clearly high production values. The ad features the disappearance of a major celebrity, who has run off with the one man in existence who does not know who she is. "Who are you?" he asks dopily. "I'm a dancer!" she says. After having a love affair on the open roof of a New York building bearing a massive Chanel sign, the star returns to her red-carpet lifestyle.

 

7. Cesar – Love Them Back (2013)
46,484 shares all time
872,871 views on YouTube

An old man and his West Highland Terrier spend the day in companionship, wandering around their town and visiting a cafe for lunch. The old man straightens his tie and the dog’s collar and then visits the grave of his late wife, where he leaves flowers and his canine companion licks his hand in comfort. The couple return home, where the man gives his dog a bowl of Cesar.

 

8. Coca-Cola – Love is in the Air (2013)
32,109 shares all time
255,877 views on YouTube

Don’t know about love, but Coke is literally in the air in this spot for Coca-Cola. Thousands of red balloons carrying cans of Coke are released from the high ground above a city, from where they drift down to be retrieved and shared by young couples in love. "Happy Valentine’s from Coke" the ad says.

 

9. Axe – Susan Glenn (2012)
21,829 shares all time
1,890,528 views on YouTube

A gravel-voiced narrator gets all rueful about the high school girl he never asked out, to promote deodorant brand Axe. The stylised, indie-style ad depicts Susan Glenn at high school, with fantastical sequences mirroring the narrator's idealised notion of her virtues. In one shot her feet lift from the ground and she walks midair towards the camera while pyrotechnics explode behind her. "The brains behind the all time top 10 comic book vixens only wish they could conjure a siren the likes of Susan Glenn," the voice says. The last shot reveals the narrator – none other than Kiefer Sutherland. "If I could do it again, I’d do it differently," he says.

 

10. Google Nexus 7 – Fear Less (2013)
14,827 shares all time
5,594,820 views on YouTube

A schoolboy with glossophobia (fear of speaking) overcomes his anxiety by using Google to resource articles and videos on how to become an effective public speaker. After standing up and sucessfully presenting to his class, he not only wins a round of applause from his classmates but is rewarded with an impressed smile from a girl. "How do I ask a girl out?" he types into Google.

 

That's it. Happy Valentine's! Let us know if there are any romantic ads you feel have a special place in your heart that didn't make the list.

This for instance:

 

This article was first published on marketingmagazine.co.uk