Honda Tops Week 1 of NFL TV Ad Blitz

Boy, that escalated quickly. The onset of the NFL season had both an immediate and notable impact on automotive TV advertising during its first week, iSpot.tv data shows.. 

The estimated national ad spend of the top five auto ads with the most impressions for the week rose over 260% over the week prior, from a combined $6.6 million to a combined $23.8 million. Over 75% of that total was spent on NFL games, and that’s with one of the top five ads not even participating in the NFL ad rush. 

The NFL spending spree was led by this week’s top car ad by impressions – Honda’s “Forever Determined” – backed by an estimated spend of $8.1 million. That’s more than the previous week’s top five ads combined, with $4.7 million of it directed at the NFL opening weekend. 

That also was more than enough to bump Nissan’s “60 Years in 30 Seconds” down to the No.2 position. Nissan was the outlier as the only top-five auto advertiser not airing its spot during NFL games. It opted for college football instead, spending a bottom-of-the-list estimated $1.9 million to do so. 

Hyundai, Chevrolet and GMC all arrived in the top five on the back of NFL airings.

According to iSpot’s Ace Metrix survey, Hyundai’s “Chewy” was the clear viewer favorite of the list, with respondents giving it a Persuasion score 10% higher than industry norms, led by a Likeability rating 18% above normal. But GMC’s “Outside In” won for Brand Match, with 91% of respondents remembering it was a GMC ad after watching it. 

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Honda: Forever Determined 

Impressions: 415,961,087 

Interruption Rate: 3.00% 

Attention Index: 97 

Est. TV Spend: $8,125,985

Nissan: 60 Years in 30 Seconds 

Impressions: 202,835,366 

Interruption Rate: 2.61% 

Attention Index: 88 

Est. TV Spend: $1,971,940

Hyundai: Chewy

Impressions: 161,027,060 

Interruption Rate: 2.97% 

Attention Index: 125 

Est. TV Spend: $5,399,689

Chevrolet: An EV for Everyone 

Impressions: 155,033,672 

Interruption Rate: 1.80% 

Attention Index: 131 

Est. TV Spend: $4,995,639

GMC: Outside & In

Impressions: 150,575,470 

Interruption Rate: 2.41% 

Attention Index: 88 

Est. TV Spend: $3,554,871

Data provided by iSpot.tv, The New Standard for TV Ad Measurement

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 your 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 your ad’s Interruption Rate against your specific media placement. The Attention Index is measured on a scale of 0 to 200, where 100 is the average and means your ad is performing as expected.

Est. National TV Spend - Amount spent on TV airings for the brand’s spots.