There was notable divergence among the type of programming driving reach for the latest most-seen auto TV ads, per an iSpot analysis for Feb. 24 through Mar. 2. Volkswagen went after a night-owl audience, Kia leaned into the NBA and Jeep prioritized news-related programming. Meanwhile, Subaru’s two ads on the ranking received the most national TV ad impressions from The Big Bang Theory.
With 137.7 million national TV ad impressions, Volkswagen’s spot for the ID. Buzz takes first place. Late-night programming provided notable reach: The Late Show With Stephen Colbert generated 7.1% of total impressions, while Jimmy Kimmel Live delivered 4.4% and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon accounted for 3.4%. Looking at networks, 26% of the spot’s total impressions came from CBS, followed by NBC (14%) and Nick (11.7%).
A commercial for Kia’s X-Line Nightfall collection is in second place. NBA games delivered 13.6% of its total 110.9 million national TV ad impressions, with another 3.4% coming from men’s college basketball. Outside of sports, other programming driving reach included The Big Bang Theory (6.3% of total impressions), The Voice (5.6%) and Watson (3.3%).
At No.3: Jeep’s President’s Day Sales Event promotion, which received 102.6 million national TV ad impressions. Fox News was the No.1 network by reach, delivering 15.8% of the ad’s total impressions; also among the top ten networks were CNN (5.2%) and MSNBC (2%). On the programming side of things, CBS Mornings accounted for 6.7% of total impressions, while Special Report With Bret Baier generated 6.6% and Today With Jenna and Friends provided 5.2%.
Subaru rounds out the ranking with two spots that had a combined 188.3 million national TV ad impressions. Both saw The Big Bang Theory and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as the top two programs by reach, and Hallmark Channel as the No.1 network by impressions.
In fourth place is “Who Wins?,” comparing the Subaru Forester to the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V. The Big Bang Theory racked up 4.2% of its total 94.4 million national TV ad impressions, with another 3.2% coming from Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and 2.3% from men’s college basketball. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial inspired notable purchase intent, with 55% of surveyed viewers saying they were “more” or “much more” likely to purchase after viewing the ad. Additionally, 28% of respondents said the product itself was the “single best thing” about the ad.
The fifth-place spot highlights how Consumer Reports named Subaru the 2025 Most Reliable and Best Overall Automotive Brand. It received 93.8 million national TV ad impressions, 5.3% of which came from The Big Bang Theory, with another 5.1% delivered by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and 3.5% from the Hallmark Channel original movie The Royal We.
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1. Volkswagen: A Life Half-Full
Impressions: 137,692,106
Interruption Rate: 2.52%
Attention Index: 94
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $980,699
Impressions: 110,875,651
Interruption Rate: 3.76%
Attention Index: 95
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,485,195
3. Jeep: Official Vehicles of Winter
Impressions: 102,574,647
Interruption Rate: 2.88%
Attention Index: 90
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $712,335
Impressions: 94,428,144
Interruption Rate: 2.90%
Attention Index: 97
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $806,204
5. Subaru: Consumer Reports 2025 Most Reliable Automotive Brand
Impressions: 93,828,898
Interruption Rate: 2.81%
Attention Index: 94
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $850,540
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.
