Captain Risky may not have insurance, but it hasn’t hurt his popularity with the daredevil taking out the most watched ad slot on YouTube for Quarter One 2015.
Go Pro also made the most watched list, with the portable camera brand securing two slots in the list, as well as Kellogg, Telstra and eBay all making the top 10.
Chris Dodson, head of large advertiser and agency marketing at Google Australia said Australia loves an unsung hero - and mums, inspiring athletes and ball boys (of a sort) - which all featured in the most watched ads of Australia last quarter.
"What’s really noticeable is how much time Australians are prepared to invest in watching the ads: seven out of 10 of them are over one minute long," Dodson said.
"Nutri-Grain’s beautiful piece about Derek Rabelo, a blind surfer who took on Pipeline, runs for more than seven minutes. And just in case you want more, there’s a link at the end to take you to similar Nutri-Grain videos."
He said viewers also wanted more of Captain Risky, Budget Direct’s idiot stunt hipster andi n the comments field, there was a push for a film to be made about him.
"It’s the type of fandom you wouldn’t normally associate with an insurance company," Dodson said.
"Whether Captain Risky makes his Hollywood debut or not, it’s nice to see a local ad take the top spot. And that’s something to sing about."
The release of the spot was followed by a six-month high in searches for ‘Budget Direct’ on Google.
See the top 10 ads for yourself:
Budget Direct: Captain Risky's Ski Jump Driving
GoPro: Pole Vaulting with Allison Stokke
ASB: Venus Williams and The Best Ball Boys in the World
Airwick: House to Home: An Experiment
HIV Foundation Queensland: I thought HIV testing was something everyone did.
eBay: Shop The World
Game of War: 2015 Super Bowl Commercial "Who I Am" ft. Kate Upton
GoPro: Owl Dance-Off
Nutri-Grain: Unstoppable - Derek Rabelo's Surf Story
Telstra: 4GX - It’s What Faster Feels Like
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