All of the top five auto ads, as ranked by iSpot’s national TV ad impressions for Mar. 3-9, activated around the NBA and/or NCAA basketball to some extent — and not just for the men’s games; Four of the ads also aired during women’s college basketball.
Hyundai spots bookend the ranking in first and fifth place. Both promote the brand’s Getaway Sales Event and use humor to play off the tagline of “Deals so right, it almost feels wrong.”
In Hyundai’s first-place ad, a son takes refuge with his mom after scoring a deal on a new Tucson, only to have his mother snag the same offer and then hide out at a friend’s house. The spot received 113.1 million national TV ad impressions, 6.4% of which came from NBA games while another 3.8% came from women’s college basketball. Outside of sports, top programming by reach included Elsbeth (9% of total impressions), American Idol (5.1%) and Survivor (4.6%). According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial inspired notable purchase intent, with 54% of surveyed viewers saying they were “more” or “much more” likely to purchase after viewing the ad.
Hyundai’s No.5 ad takes a similar approach, but this time it’s a man dashing into a church confessional because he feels so guilty about the deal he received on the Ioniq 5. The NBA was the top reach-driver, generating 12.8% of the spot’s total 97.7 million national TV ad impressions, followed by NCIS: Sydney (10.5%) and women’s college basketball (7.5%).
Subaru takes second place with a spot touting the accolades it’s received from Consumer Reports, including the 2025 Most Reliable Automotive Brand and Best Overall Automotive Brand. Morning shows delivered the most reach, with Good Morning America accounting for 6.5% of its total 109.8 million national TV ad impressions, while Today provided 6.1%. Other top programming included 9-1-1 (4%) and The Big Bang Theory (3.8%).
At No.3 is Kia’s enduring “Elevated by the Dark,” which has been on and off the ranking for weeks. Nearly half of its total 103.7 million national TV ad impressions came from primetime airings. Across all dayparts, NBA games generated 18.2% of total impressions, while men’s college basketball delivered 3.4% and women’s college basketball accounted for 0.9%.
In the fourth-place commercial, Lexus invites viewers to “step into a world of thoughtful consideration,” and offers special deals during the Invitation to Lexus Sales Event. Of the five ads on the chart, this one leaned into basketball the most, with 20.6% of the total 10.5 million national TV ad impressions coming from men’s college basketball, and 5.2% from women’s college basketball. This spot had an 87% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Lexus ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 81%.
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Impressions: 113,109,889
Interruption Rate: 2.78%
Attention Index: 87
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $553,630
2. Subaru: Consumer Reports 2025 Most Reliable Automotive Brand
Impressions: 110,875,651
Interruption Rate: 2.47%
Attention Index: 111
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $750,172
Impressions: 102,574,647
Interruption Rate: 3.95%
Attention Index: 96
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $831,144
4. Lexus: Step Into Consideration
Impressions: 94,428,144
Interruption Rate: 2.21%
Attention Index: 82
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $397,317
Impressions: 93,828,898
Interruption Rate: 3.53%
Attention Index: 69
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $415,763
Data provided by iSpot, The New Standard for TV Ad Measurement.
Chart positions and other data may be updated in iSpot’s database as additional airings information becomes available.
TV Impressions - Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.
Interruption Rate - The percentage of devices that were present at the beginning of the ad but did not complete watching the ad. Actions that interrupt ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV. The Interruption Rate is measured on a scale of 0 to 100%.
Attention Index - A comparison of the ad’s interruption rate against its specific media placement. The Attention Index is measured on a scale of 0 to 200, where 100 is the average and means the ad is performing as expected.
Est. National TV Spend - Amount spent on TV airings for the brand’s spots.
