Four of the top five TV auto commercials for April 21-27, as ranked by iSpot’s national TV ad impressions, activated heavily around the first round of the NBA playoffs. Subaru was the outlier, instead prioritizing drama series and morning news programming (more on that below).
Hyundai’s No.1 spot racked up 232.5 million national TV ad impressions, nearly 100 million more than Kia’s second-place commercial. Over a third (35.6%) of the spot’s reach came from NBA games, with other top programming including The Rookie (3.6%) and MLB games (2.9%). Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 17% of surveyed viewers said the message – that Hyundai won’t increase vehicle pricing – was the “single best thing” about the ad.
An energetic, movement-filled commercial from Kia takes second place with 137.2 million national TV ad impressions. The spot highlights features including the available 29.6-in. (75-cm) panoramic display for the K4 model, and the K5’s “class-leading 290 horsepower.” NBA games delivered 55% of the ad’s total impressions, with another 10.5% coming from Inside the NBA and 7.2% from NHL games.
With 130.2 million national TV ad impressions, Jeep takes third place on the ranking with a spot promoting its “Freedom of Choice” pricing program. CBS Mornings and the NBA were neck and neck for reach, delivering 7.7% and 7.3% of total impressions, respectively. This was also the only spot on the ranking that aired during the 2025 NFL Draft (3.1% of total impressions). iSpot’s Creative Assessment reveals that this commercial had 91% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Jeep ad after watching it), above the recent automaker norm of 80%.
Honda’s fourth-place spot declares that “challenges are our greatest opportunities.” The ad, which introduces the 2026 Passport TrailSport model, scored above the automaker norm for attention, likeability and desire. Nearly all of its total 119.5 million national TV ad impressions came from either the NBA (55.6%) or the NHL (40.1%).
As mentioned previously, Subaru’s No.5 spot (91.6 million national TV ad impressions) eschewed sports in favor of drama and news programming. Law & Order: Special Victims Unit generated 8.4% of the total impressions, followed by Chicago P.D. (7.7%), Good Morning America (6.1%) and Today (5.8%).
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1. Hyundai: The Hyundai Way: Customer Assurance
Impressions: 232,491,572
Interruption Rate: 3.03%
Attention Index: 101
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $3,415,911
Impressions: 137,192,376
Interruption Rate: 4.22%
Attention Index: 95
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,773,020
Impressions: 130,186,255
Interruption Rate: 3.73%
Attention Index: 95
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,503,209
Impressions: 119,490,149
Interruption Rate: 3.40%
Attention Index: 104
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,400,878
5. Subaru: Consumer Reports 2025 Most Reliable Automotive Brand
Impressions: 91,582,519
Interruption Rate: 2.75%
Attention Index: 114
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $962,213
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.
