Chevy’s ‘Taco Truck’ Tops Most-Seen Auto Ads List

The chart debut of Chevrolet’s “Taco Truck” spot claims the top spot in iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-viewed automotive commercials – the ads that have generated the most impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings.

Results for the week of Jan. 17 show the race for the lead was close, as Chevy bumped Nissan’s “Electric Cars for Electric Drivers” down to No.2 by less than 600,000 impressions. 

The spots were neck-and-neck in terms of viewer reaction as well, according to iSpot’s Ace Metrix survey data, with an overall viewer rating above industry norms of 7.3% for Chevy and 8.4% for Nissan. Nissan won the “attention” category, scoring 4.5% above industry norms, while Chevy had the edge in “likeability” with 3.7%.

Although both ads leaned heavily on NFL playoff games to deliver the views, Chevy had the stronger result, with nearly twice as many NFL-generated impressions as Nissan.

In fact, last weekend’s dramatic NFL playoff games delivered the vast majority of views for all spots on the list, save one. That would be Subaru’s “Well Adventured,” a chart debut at No.4. The automaker had the lowest estimated national spend on the list, with only $1.7 million –compared to the estimated $6 million Lexus spent on airing “Hustle,” at No.3 – and directed it at morning news and crime dramas instead of the NFL playoffs. 

Perhaps that strategy captured a more receptive audience, as the Subaru proved the most well-received of the list, according to Ace Metrix. In fact, its incremental percentage ratings for “attention” (8.4% above industry norms), and “likeability” (7.4% above industry norms) were nearly double those of Chevy and Nissan.

Closing out the list was Toyota’s high-energy “Find Your Groove.”

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Chevrolet: Taco Truck

Impressions: 198,629,131 

Interruption Rate: 2.04% 

Attention Index: 114 

Est. TV Spend: $4,581,016

Nissan: Electric Cars for Electric Drivers

Impressions: 198,036,121 

Interruption Rate: 1.99% 

Attention Index: 109 

Est. TV Spend: $3,084,545

Lexus: Hustle

Impressions: 189,659,892 

Interruption Rate: 2.09% 

Attention Index: 115 

Est. TV Spend: $6,093,908

Subaru: Well Adventured

Impressions: 171,074,135 

Interruption Rate: 2.59% 

Attention Index: 100 

Est. TV Spend: $1,718,055

Toyota: Find Your Groove

Impressions: 157,651,172 

Interruption Rate: 2.20% 

Attention Index: 93 

Est. TV Spend: $3,517,116

Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands

*Ace Metrix auto industry norms data measured over the last 90 days.

TV Impressions - Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.

Interruption Rate - The rate at which the audience present at the beginning of your ad disengages with it before it ends.

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.