Viewers were left in shock and sorrow last week with a Save the Children campaign that aims to raise awareness for the plight of children in Syria by placing the situation in a Western context.
Using the popularized video style of one-second shifts, the U.K. commercial chronicles a year in the life of a young girl whose world is drastically transformed through war and conflict. It begins with the girl engaging in normal childhood activities such as blowing out birthday candles and playing on swings, but the ad quickly turns grim as she flees from bomb explosions and war-stricken streets, filling her once peaceful life with fear and uncertainty.
The harrowing spot struck a chord with viewers last week, amassing over 20.9 million views and debuting at No. 1 on this week's Viral Video Chart.
Next in the line-up is Samsung with its official introduction of the Samsung S5. The 3.5-minute video highlights all the cool new features of the mobile phone like real-time photo previews, a dust and water resistance function, and a feature dedicated to fitness and health. It comes in at No. 2, garnering over 11.8 million views.
Oscar campaigns also debut on the chart this week with Lipton's Muppets spot, Samsung's "Amazing Things Happen" campaign and Pepsi's "Mini Hollywood" making it to No. 3, No. 4, and No. 5 respectively. Mazda drives into the seventh seat with a Bruce Lee comparison for the 2014 Mazda3 and Sony takes ninth place with an adventure-packed spot for its promotion of the new PlayStation Plus.