Thanks to the Internet, marketing has evolved over the years. Consumers no longer rely on billboards and TV spots — a.k.a. outbound marketing — to learn about new products, because the web has empowered them. It's given them alternative methods for finding, buying and researching brands and products. The new marketing communication — inbound marketing — has become a two-way dialogue, much of which is facilitated by social media.

Another reason why inbound marketing is winning is because it costs less than traditional marketing. Why try to buy your way in when consumers aren't even paying attention? Here are some stats from the infographic below.

44% of direct mail is never opened. That's a waste of time, postage and paper.
86% of people skip through television commercials.
84% of 25 to 34 year olds have clicked out of a website because of an "irrelevant or intrusive ad."
The cost per lead in outbound marketing is more than for inbound marketing.

Inbound marketing focuses on earning, not buying, a person's attention, which is done through social media and engaging content, such as blogs, podcasts and white papers. This content is interesting, informative and adds value, creating a positive connection in the eyes of the consumer, thus making him more likely to engage your brand and buy the product. So it costs less and has better a ROI.

Music can often be the leading factor in what elicits an emotional reaction from media viewers. Auditory queues play a significant role in how we interpret an advertisement, much like they do in TV shows and movies. They often set the stage for the scene, giving us an idea of how we should be feeling and what can be expected from the next few moments.

Many of the most successful commercials contain some sort of music, and its applications run the gamut from somber anthems to hilarity-invoking jingles. But if we intend to dissect the music behind the most viral advertisements, there are a number of questions we need to ask.

So, what makes a “successful commercial”?

There are many ways to measure an advertisement’s success, some more complicated than others. But one of the most telling and accessible metrics available is its popularity on social media.

High views on YouTube reflect the commercial’s viral popularity, or how many people were interested enough to spend their time watching it (and in many cases sharing it with their peers afterward). View count is a real-time measurement of a commercial’s exposure and effective reach, giving us valuable insight into the audience it has reached.

Now let’s get down to business. Below are the statistics I’ve gathered after reviewing the 50 most-viewed commercials on YouTube (from a search for the term “commercial”; note that I’m not referring to the sponsored ads that appear before other videos). I narrowed it down to only professionally produced, English language advertising for legitimate products and services.

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