Automakers continue to harness NBA playoff action to reach wide, engaged audiences: Four of the top five non-luxury auto ads, as ranked by iSpot’s national TV ad impressions, activated around the conference finals during the week of May 26. Volkswagen owns two of the top five commercials, one of which did not air during NBA games.
The first-place spot highlights how Nissan has been assembling vehicles in the U.S. since 1983, and informs viewers about special Summer Sales Event pricing with reduced MSRPs on the Rogue and Pathfinder. NBA games dominated for reach, generating over 25% of the spot’s total 135.4 million national TV ad impressions. Other top programming included MLB (7.2% of total impressions) and 9-1-1 (5.1%). According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this spot had an 89% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Nissan ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 80%.
Volkswagen owns the No.2 and No.5 spots – which had a combined 190.4 million national TV ad impressions – making it the most-seen automaker on the ranking.
In the second-place commercial, a 2025 Volkswagen Tiguan cruises down a city street, catching the eyes of humans and dogs alike. It racked up 125.6 million national TV ad impressions, led by the NBA (17.1% of total impressions), Today (9.8%) and the 2025 French Open (4.3%). Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this spot scored above the automotive norm for attention, likeability and watchability, with 18% of surveyed viewers saying the music (Jean Knight’s “Mr. Big Stuff”) was the “single best thing” about the ad.
Volkswagen’s fifth-place spot (64.8 million national TV ad impressions) skipped the NBA and instead leaned on sports commentary programming including First Take (9% of total impressions) and SportsCenter (4.7%), as well as House Hunters (4.3%). Cable news was another focus, with MSNBC generating 15.4% of the ad’s total impressions, while CNN delivered 13.4%.
The No.3 spot proclaims that “dependability comes standard” with every Chevrolet truck. It received 98.4 million national TV ad impressions, 14% of which came from NBA games. Other top programming included Sunday Night in America With Trey Gowdy (4.8%) and the 2025 Women’s College World Series (3.9%).
“Standard” is also the theme of GMC’s fourth-place ad, with the spokesperson stating “We’re challenging the standard – of what comes standard,” before highlighting various (and, yes, standard) features of the Terrain Elevation model. NBA games generated 11.6% of the spot’s total 76.6 million national TV ad impressions, with another 5.9% coming from America’s Got Talent and 4.7% from the NHL.
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Impressions: 135,423,857
Interruption Rate: 4.69%
Attention Index: 64
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,664,677
Impressions: 125,607,100
Interruption Rate: 3.39%
Attention Index: 95
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,625,591
3. Chevrolet: Dependability Comes Standard
Impressions: 98,373,310
Interruption Rate: 3.42%
Attention Index: 105
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,853,724
4. GMC: Challenging the Standard
Impressions: 76,643,967
Interruption Rate: 3.48%
Attention Index: 104
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,226,681
Impressions: 64,788,095
Interruption Rate: 3.49%
Attention Index: 106
Est. National TV Ad Spend: $514,818
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.
