Black Friday and Cyber Monday are not only some of the biggest shopping days across North America, but they also kick off massive ad buys by retailers and brands alike as they try to stay top of mind in the run-up to the holidays.
The Most Viewed Video Ads for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022 show how different brands and retailers are setting themselves apart from the pack during a more optimistic period of consumer spending. And inexplicably, a focus on dancing to get everyone in the holiday spirit as quickly as possible.
A cautiously optimistic outlook on holiday shopping
McKinsey’s latest Consumer Pulse Survey gave retailers plenty of hope this holiday season for a couple of key reasons.
- Over half of US shoppers are excited to do some holiday shopping this year and have the savings to spend (compared to just 34% feeling excited this time in 2021).
- And 56% of these shoppers have started buying early, citing concerns about rising prices before the end of the year and availability of their preferred items after supply chain issues the past two holiday seasons.
And online, the hope was justified. Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022 exceeded online sales numbers from the previous year.
According to Adobe Analytics, Black Friday and Cyber Monday boasted online sales of $9.1 billion and $11.3 billion, respectively.
Top 10 Most Viewed Video Ads for Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2022*
| Rank | Brand | Campaign | Release Date | Views |
| 1 | Buying All Black | Nov-17 | 8,997,294 | |
| 2 | JCPenney | Black Friday Deals with Penny James & The Shopette | Nov-18 | 6,094,837 |
| 3 | Famous Footwear | Holiday 2022 | Nov-3 | 2,280,947 |
| 4 | Big Lots | 30% Off ALL Trees, Tree Decor, & More! | Nov-21 | 1,576,836 |
| 5 | Walmart | Walmart Black Friday Deals For Days | Nov-2 | 1,570,023 |
| 6 | Zales | Black Friday Specials | Nov-3 | 392,394 |
| 7 | Amazon | Robocats | Nov-25 | 166,550 |
| 8 | Target | Black Friday Deals | Nov-25 | 116,000 |
| 9 | Curacao | Black Friday | Nov-21 | 102,897 |
| 10 | Costco | Black Friday | Nov-25 | 32,000 |
*Data collected by AcuityAds’ True Reach™ insights platform from October 15 – November 29, 2022
The stand-out Black Friday ads of 2022
Google — Buying All Black
Google continued their #BlackOwnedFriday series for the third year with an original song from Ludacris and Flo Milli presented in their shoppable video format. The video features over 100 products from more than 70 black-owned businesses.
On Google’s blog, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges shares that there are now 30% more black-owned businesses in the USA than before the COVID-19 pandemic. The message must resonate as the video was this year’s most viewed Black Friday ad.
Amazon — Robocats
This year, Amazon channeled many theoretical interactions around the dinner table for their Black Friday ad. The spot features the old-guard, brick-and-mortar crowd participating in a wrap battle of sorts as they compete via Christmas carol with online shopping advocates from the future.
The ad gets heated fast with tongue-in-cheek allusions to “ok, boomer” and “triggering before evolving into … well, you’ll just have to watch to see how they come to a resolution for Cyber Meowday.
Walmart — Case of the Mondays
Walmart’s ad serves as a cast reunion for Office Space, where the employees of Initech Corporation learn the blue-branded department store has spread their Black Friday sale over several days and given everyone cause to celebrate the first day of the week.
The ad is part of a series featuring the Deals for Days adventures of Lumbergh, Lawrence, and of course, the real Michael Bolton.
Key takeaways
- Dancing for deals? The top 3 most viewed Black Friday 2022 ads featured some fancy footwork. While there’s not enough data to call this a trend, let’s consider it a temperature check given the rosy outlook of retailers and consumers’ steadfast inclination to spend this year.
- Back to the mall: While online shopping is certainly encouraged, this year’s set of ads certainly had a common thread of in-person interactions. This shopping season presents a more open retail landscape, and the content of these ads mirrors or tries to play on the goodwill created when seeing one another face-to-face.
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