Hyundai Harnesses NFL, Still No.1 Among Most-Seen Auto TV Ads

Although its 130.2 million national TV ad impressions from Nov. 27 through Dec. 3 constitutes a 41% week-over-week decrease, Hyundai’s “Vail” once again leads iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-seen auto TV ads. 

Almost a quarter of those impressions came from NFL games (28.7 million), with NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt (25.8 million) close behind and Football Night in America a distant third (10 million). NBC (57.5 million impressions) was the top impressions-generating network by a long shot, while CBS and Fox each generated about 9 million impressions. 

Subaru shares the love in the second-place spot, which had 122.8 million national TV ad impressions. The commercial highlights the company’s dedication to helping communities through volunteer work and charitable donations, noting Subaru and its retailers are donating$300 to charity for each new-car purchase. Dancing With the Stars and Today each delivered 5.2 million national TV ad impressions, followed by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit with 3.9 million. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 32% of surveyed viewers considered the message the single best thing about the ad.

At No.3: A Kia commercial promoting its Season of Giving Back Sales Event, offering deals on the Sorento and Sportage models. The spot ran up 119.1 million national TV ad impressions, with the top impressions-generating networks including Fox (18.6 million), ABC (10.5 million) and The CW (5.9 million). Family Feud (9.9 million), college football (8.1 million) and NBA  games (4.2 million) led the list of programs by impressions.

Nissan’s “All In” takes fourth place with 98.7 million national TV ad impressions, 54% of which came from primetime ad airings. College football was a primary driver of impressions, delivering 28.9 million, while Hallmark Channel (41.5 million) was the top impressions-generating network; its original movie A Not So Royal Christmas was the No.2 program for impressions (8.9 million).

The fifth-place spot from Lexus, notably lacking a voiceover or narration, finds a playful way to advertise its December to Remember Sales Event. The spot got 90.9 million national TV ad impressions, 11.1 million of which came from college football games. College basketball delivered another 3.5 million impressions, while NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt generated 2.6 million. Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this ad scored above the auto industry norm for attention, likability and desire. 

(Click on blue links for videos) 

1. Hyundai: Getaway Sales Event: Get In and Get Away: Vail

Impressions: 130,176,000 

Interruption Rate: 2.60%

Attention Index: 86

Est. TV Spend: $1,953,301 

2. Subaru: Share the Love Event: 2023 Hometown 

Impressions: 122,794,855  

Interruption Rate: 3.53%

Attention Index: 91

Est. TV Spend: $1,275,327 

3. Kia: Season of Giving Back: The Gift of Great Deals

Impressions: 119,093,869  

Interruption Rate: 3.51%

Attention Index: 83

Est. TV Spend: $618,999 

4. Nissan: All In

Impressions: 98,718,237  

Interruption Rate: 2.50%

Attention Index: 87

Est. TV Spend: $570,609 

5. Lexus: December to Remember Sales Event: Overnight

Impressions: 90,892,571   

Interruption Rate: 3.52%

Attention Index: 70

Est. TV Spend: $443,834  

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 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.