Questions Abound in Most-Viewed Car Ad Rankings

The first-place commercial from Lexus for the week of Oct. 8 asks “Why Bother” – while Honda asks “Why not?” in a spot that slips from first to second place this time around.

October 18, 2018

2 Min Read
Top-ranked Lexus ad contrasts “excellence” with “mastery.”
Top-ranked Lexus ad contrasts “excellence” with “mastery.”

Ads titled “Why Bother” and “Why Not?” finish 1-2 in iSpot.tv’s latest ranking of the most-viewed automotive commercials – the ads that have racked up the highest number of impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings.

The first-place commercial from Lexus for the week of Oct. 8 asks “Why Bother” – as in, “Why test a hybrid engine for over 6 million miles? Why hand-tune an audio system? Why include the most advanced safety system in its class, standard?” Because, as the announcer explains, the “difference between excellence and mastery is all the difference in the world.”

Honda, meanwhile, asks “Why not?” in a spot that slips from first to second place this time around. The ad highlights the versatility, comfort and reliability of the CR-V, HR-V and Pilot SUV models by showing them in a variety of scenarios (at the beach, in the snow, at a carnival and beyond).

Third place goes to a Mercedes-Benz commercial with a voiceover from actor Jon Hamm describing the C-Class as being ahead of its time “from the start.” We watch as an old model undergoes upgrades and transformations, ending up as the “faster, smarter” ’19 C-Class. This commercial has the best iSpot Attention Index (139) in the ranking, getting 39% fewer interruptions than the average auto ad (interruptions include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Lincoln’s enduring spot for the ’19 MKC, focusing on its Waze app integration, lands in fourth place, while an ad from Mitsubishi highlighting the features of the ’19 Eclipse Cross rounds out the ranking.

iSpot.tv is a real-time TV ad measurement company with attention and conversion analytics from more than 8 million smart TVs.

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1. Lexus: Why Bother

Impressions: 250,745,513

Attention Score: 84.08

Attention Index: 62

Est. TV Spend: $1,775,716


2. Honda: Why Not?

Impressions: 234,442,269

Attention Score: 92.95

Attention Index: 128

Est. TV Spend: $4,114,669


3. Mercedes-Benz: Non-Stop Engineering

Impressions: 223,470,039

Attention Score: 93.97

Attention Index: 139

Est. TV Spend: $3,694,863


4. Lincoln Motor Company: Waze World

Impressions: 213,685,685

Attention Score: 92.64

Attention Index: 125

Est. TV Spend: $5,014,384


5. Mitsubishi: In a Mitsubishi

Impressions: 211,773,939

Attention Score: 87.61

Attention Index: 79

Est. TV Spend: $2,680,149


Data provided by iSpot.tv, Attention and Conversion Analytics for TV Ads


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.

 

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