No Actors in Chevrolet’s Most-Watched Auto Ad

Real people help Chevrolet top iSpot.tv’s latest rankings of automotive commercials that have received the highest number of impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings.

Chevy’s No.1 ad for the week of Oct. 9-15, celebrating Truck Month, took No.2 last time. In it, “real people (not actors)” guess which truck brands offer best-in-class horsepower and off-road capabilities and are pleasantly surprised when the bowtie brand’s models fit the bill.

Last week’s chart leader Mitsubishi slips to second place with an ad spotlighting the ’17 Outlander, a model that comes fully equipped with just about everything (the brand promises) a family needs, including a multiview camera system, blindspot warning and forward-collision mitigation.

No.3 goes to Land Rover’s commercial for the Range Rover Velar which, the ad hints, can command respect even from a pack of fierce, barking dogs. This spot has the best iSpot Attention Index (153) in the rankings, getting 53% fewer interruptions than the average auto ad (interruptions include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Nissan grabs fourth place with an ad for the ’17 Rogue, featuring the classic Journey anthem “Don’t Stop Believin’.” When a family gets a little bored of their Frisbee game, they jump into the Rogue and zoom through the city safely (with an assist from the automatic emergency braking system), arriving at a playing field just in time to give their dachshund a chance for an epic airborne catch.

Alfa Romeo wraps up the ranking with a short (15-second) but compelling spot for the ’18 Stelvio, the company’s first SUV – and, the ad professes, the “end of your search, your drive, your dream.”

iSpot.tv is a real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from more than 7 million smart TVs.

Data provided by

1. Chevrolet: Truck Month: Choice Without Compromise

248,834,946 Impressions, 87.86 Attention Score, 107 Attention Index, $2,270,579 Est. TV Spend

2. Mitsubishi: Everything

205,139,553 Impressions, 90.41 Attention Score, 126 Attention Index, $3,358,246 Est. TV Spend

3. Land Rover: Respect

200,851,041 Impressions, 93.91 Attention Score, 153 Attention Index, $3,978,971 Est. TV Spend

4. Nissan: New Tricks

199,982,381 Impressions, 86.24 Attention Score, 95 Attention Index, $3,452,099 Est. TV Spend

5. Alfa Romeo: Unforgettable

157,360,346 Impressions, 88.21 Attention Score, 109 Attention Index, $2,141,540 Est. TV Spend

TV Impressions - Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.
Attention Score - Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.
Attention Index - Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs the average. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.
Est. National TV Spend - Amount spent on TV airings for the brand’s spots.