Sports and news programming delivered notable reach for all five of the most-seen automotive TV commercials, as ranked by iSpot’s national TV ad impressions for the time period of Aug. 4-10. The top two spots, from Hyundai and Jeep, also activated around NFL preseason action to reach wide audiences.
Hyundai takes first place with a spot promoting its Getaway Sales Event. It received 121.6 million national TV ad impressions, with sports as a key focus: MLB games delivered 22% of its total impressions, while PGA Tour golf generated 21.1% and the NFL provided 6.7%. On the network side of things, NBC dominated with 23.4% of total impressions, followed by Golf Channel (7.4%) and ESPN (6.6%).
Jeep’s second-place commercial spotlights everything good about summer, from beach fun to rugged off-road adventures. Of its total 107.5 million national TV ad impressions, 14.3% came from PGA Tour golf, while NFL games delivered 4.7% and CBS Mornings generated 3.9%. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this spot performed in the 97th percentile for both attention and likeability.
The No. 3 spot from Subaru stands out with a markedly more serious tone. As scenes of a car accident unfold, a woman’s voiceover reflects, “The moment I loved our Subaru Outback most was the moment they walked away from it.” (“They” being her – thankfully unharmed – husband and daughter). Morning news programming reigned supreme for reach, with Good Morning America generating 10% of the spot’s total 95.2 million national TV ad impressions, followed by NBC’s Today (5.8%) and CBS News Sunday Morning (3.1%). Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this ad had an 89% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Subaru ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 79%.
Chevrolet takes fourth place with a spot highlighting how the Equinox is “more than an SUV.” It received 83.7 million national TV ad impressions, with Fox News accounting for nearly half (48%). Looking at top programs specifically, America Reports led with 8.8% of total impressions across all networks, followed by Outnumbered (8.4%) and Fox News Live (6.1%). The commercial inspired notable positive purchase intent, with 53% of survey respondents saying they were “more” or “much more” likely to purchase after viewing the ad.
Kia rounds out the ranking with a commercial for its various EV models that received 83.4 million national TV ad impressions, 46% of which came from primetime ad airings. Across dayparts, PGA Tour golf delivered 9.7% of total impressions, with another 5.7% coming from HGTV’s House Hunters and 4.5% from the CBS series Neighborhood. Top networks by reach included HGTV (15%), Fox News (8.9%) and NBC (7.2%).
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Impressions: 121,591,842
Interruption Rate: 3.02%
Attention Index: 99
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $708,842
Impressions: 107,461,213
Interruption Rate: 3.28%
Attention Index: 88
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $896,581
Impressions: 95,151,662
Interruption Rate: 3.11%
Attention Index: 97
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $885,375
4. Chevrolet: More Than an SUV
Impressions: 83,747,255
Interruption Rate: 2.66%
Attention Index: 113
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $289,407
5. Kia: EV for Each Side of You
Impressions: 83,409,467
Interruption Rate: 2.90%
Attention Index: 103
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $767,311
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.
