Last Oct. 7, 2025, the 2025 YouTube Works Awards Southeast Asia celebrated some of the most innovative and effective advertising campaigns of the year, highlighting the platform's unmatched reach and its thriving ecosystem of creators and communities.
According to new Kantar research presented during the ceremony, YouTube continues to reign as the leading platform for streaming video content — reaching more viewers daily than its closest competitors, including TikTok and Meta. Beyond its massive audience, the platform also proves its strength in performance. In fact, YouTube drives more than double the ROI of linear TV, generating 4.1 times higher returns in Indonesia, 2.9 times in Thailand, and 2.3 times in Vietnam. It also outperformed other social platforms, with 1.5 times the ROI in Indonesia, 1.6 times in Thailand, and 1.2 times in Vietnam.
In the Philippines, YouTube stands out as one of the most effective media channels for advertisers. A study commissioned by Nielsen found that it delivers 3.86 times higher ROI compared to linear TV,and 2.71 times more than other digital platforms, underscoring how the platform has become a key player in the country’s evolving digital landscape.
Some of the region’s most influential voices are also on YouTube. According to research from Kantar and MTM, YouTube creators are trusted by 90% of viewers in the Philippines, 88% in Thailand, and 86% in Indonesia, figures that are above the regional average. This level of trust from brands, paired with YouTube’s unmatched reach, creates the perfect mix for meaningful connections and real business impact.
Ceremony Highlights
Beyond the numbers, the 2025 YouTube Works Awards shined a spotlight on the creative teams behind Southeast Asia’s most effective campaigns. What they all have in common? A smart use of humor and a dash of quirkiness that made their messages both memorable and impossible to scroll past.
Winning the Grand Prix and the Multiformat Storytelling awards is Thailand’s Dutchie Yogurt from Dutch Mill for the Fight For Thais’ Gut campaign. The short film told the story of its 40-year legacy in the country by blending thrilling martial arts action with the signature Thai humor that’s propelled the country’s advertising industry to viral status on the internet. This strategy became the most-watched content in Dutchie’s history, achieving a 95% view-through rate and an 11+% increase in sales.
Thailand’s Netflix also won the Best of Festive category with its Songkran Thai Splash campaign. Lifebuoy Indonesia also won the Big Bang category, whileHonda Indonesia took home the Brands & Creators award.
Fintech brand GCash also made history by being the first-ever brand from the Philippines to win at the YouTube Works Awards SEA. Their GSafeTayo: Entertainingly Serious campaign effectively communicated a serious advocacy message through the lens of humor, which helped convey an important cybersecurity and vigilance message.
Launched at the height of SMS spoofing scams that hit over 600,000 Filipinos in 2024, GSafeTayo saw GCash team up with YouTube for a powerful multiformat campaign. At its heart was a 40-second video featuring Tita Marnie, whose meme-worthy reaction to almost getting scammed made the message hit home. The campaign also rolled out a three-part exposé showing how scams work and how users can stay safe. It earned over 70 million views, boosting brand trust by 14%, and cutting SMS phishing reports by 80% within its first month.
“We've always known that to combat the very serious threat of cybercrime, we needed a creative approach that would truly resonate with Filipinos. By using humor and relatability on YouTube, a platform that would enable us to reach so many Filipinos, we were able to turn a critical message about cybersecurity into something memorable and impactful,” said Neil Trinidad, GCash Chief Marketing Officer.
“This award is a testament to our team's collaboration, creativity, and commitment to protecting our users. I’ve always believed that as marketers, our greatest influence goes beyond the campaigns we create, but in the lives that we help transform. It proves that with the right strategy using YouTube as the most effective and widely viewed medium, we can make a serious topic like online safety both engaging and effective, helping to keep our users safe from scams,” he added.
Additionally, the best ad agencies in the region were also honored with Mindshare from Indonesia winning the Media Agency of the Year, Ogilvy Group Thailand for Creative Agency of the Year, and Little Red Ants Vietnam as Specialty Agency of the Year.
For updates, subscribe to the YouTube Advertisers channel or follow them on X (Formerly Twitter).
