Cute animals, musical numbers and tearjerkers abound in 2016's top viral ads

Adorable critters, elaborate song-and-dance routines, tearjerking tales of inspiration — these are the staples of advertising virality, and each was in abundant supply among this year's most-shared commercials.

Video tracking firm Unruly tallied up some of 2016's biggest hits from around the world in its annual ranking released this week.

Topping out the list, unsurprisingly, is British department story John Lewis' mood-brightening story of a puppy seeing its Christmas wish come true. Some other notable ads that made the cut include an inspirational musical act performed by people with disability for the Paralympics and a fan-made Doritos Super Bowl spot.

It's worth noting that the ads are judged on the number of times they're shared across social platforms rather than simple viewership, which can sometimes be inflated through paid means.

20. Nintendo - First Look at Nintendo Switch

19. Mentos Indonesia - Mentos Mentors

18. Facebook - Aquila Test Flight

17. Momondo - The DNA Journey

16. Knorr - Spirit of Ramadan

15. OK Go & Morton Salt - The One Moment

14. Samsung - Introducing Samsung Galaxy S7

13. Volkswagen - Trailer Assist

12. Nike Basketball - The Conductor

11. McDonald's Philippines - Tuloy Pa Rin

10. 7-Eleven Thailand - Teachers

9. Cadbury's Dairy Milk - Aliens

8. Ariel - #sharetheload

7. Doritos - Ultrasound

6. Nike - The Switch

5. OK Go & S7 Airlines - Upside Down and Inside Out

4. Vodafone - Ramadan 2016

3. Shell - Best Day Of My Life | #makethefuture

2. Channel 4 - We Are the Superhumans

1. John Lewis - #BusterTheBoxer