Hyundai Hits Home Run With Most-Seen Car Commercial

Less than a million impressions separate the top two ads on iSpot.tv’s latest list of the most-viewed automotive commercials, but Hyundai squeaks ahead to lead the pack thanks to a strategy that focused on the MLB All-Star Game. 

Despite being outspent by the No.2 finisher, Nissan’s “Today Is Made For The Thrill,” Hyundai’s decision to air its “County Fair” commercial during both the annual baseball event and the Home Run Derby paid off. Between the game and the Derby, Hyundai collected more impressions for the ad than any other single programming target across all other ads on the list. 

Hyundai was the only carmaker in the top five to include the All-Star game in its mix. The other advertisers – Nissan, Chevrolet, Toyota and Subaru – instead focused on casting a wide net that primarily focused on syndicated comedies and dramas, with some news and reality programming sprinkled in. In fact, three series landed among the top five shows by impressions for multiple ads on the list: Law And Order: SVU, The Big Bang Theory and NCIS. 

According to iSpot’s Ace Metrix survey respondents, Subaru’s “Don’t Worry” ad promoting the Outback was the most persuasive, scoring 4.76% above industry norms. But the Chevy Silverado spot “Muddy Passengers” had the highest brand recognition score of 90% (meaning the number of viewers who remembered it was a Chevy ad after watching it). 

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Hyundai: County Fair 

Impressions: 124,469,348 

Interruption Rate: 2.25% 

Attention Index: 112 

Est. TV Spend: $1,048,076

Nissan: Today Is Made for Thrill: Why Wait for Tomorrow? 

Impressions: 123,854,741 

Interruption Rate: 2.15% 

Attention Index: 98 

Est. TV Spend: $1,337,351

Chevrolet: Muddy 

Impressions: 114,158,824 

Interruption Rate: 2.06% 

Attention Index: 108 

Est. TV Spend: $767,961

Toyota: Born for the Wild 

Impressions: 113,199,834 

Interruption Rate: 1.89% 

Attention Index: 95 

Est. TV Spend: $987,581

Subaru: Don't Worry 

Impressions: 111,435,625 

Interruption Rate: 2.66% 

Attention Index: 99 

Est. TV Spend: $808,415

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.