AXE’s Find Your Magic ad was the most watched on YouTube in South Africa, with over 1.65 million views. The ad makes fun of a person who thinks having six-pack abs is the ultimate achievement, asking why you would need a six pack when you’ve got unique attributes that make you, you.

Second, with some 1.45 million views was Fanta’s #FantaTastesLike: My Fanta Epic Taste Jam video. This animated ad takes viewers on a journey with six friends having a day out and taking their Fanta with them.

Close behind Fanta with 1.4 million views, Knorr’s Love At First Taste was the third most watched ad this year - this 3-minute ad matched singles based on their taste preferences and then made them feed each other, with entertaining and heart-warming results.

Top ten most-watched ads for 2016

  1. AXE South Africa: Find your magic - 1.65 million views;
  2. Fanta: #FantaTastesLike: My Fanta Epic Taste Jam - 1.45 million views;
  3. Knorr: Love At First Taste - 1.4 million views;
  4. Always:#Like a girl: Keep playing - 1.35 million views;
  5. Coca-Cola South Africa: Brotherly Love #EnjoyTheFeeling - 1.34 million views;
  6. Dove: How old are you? - 1.25 million views;
  7. LUX: She who dares - 1.16 million views; 
  8. Nedbank: Personal Loan Coach Dingaan Video - 1.13 million views;
  9. Old Spice South Africa: Block, Block, Block Block Odours for 48 Houuuuuuuuurs! - 1.11 million; and
  10. MTN South Africa: #MyNightShift - 1 million views.

YouTube has over a billion users — almost one-third of all people on the Internet — and every day people watch hundreds of millions of hours on YouTube and generate billions of views. 80% of YouTube's views are from outside of the US. YouTube has launched local versions in more than 88 countries, and you can navigate YouTube in a total of 76 different languages (covering 95% of the Internet population).

For more information, visit plus.google.com/+GoogleAfrica. Alternatively, connect with Google Africa on Twitter.