Toyota Claims Most-Seen Auto Ad Against Olympic Backdrop

Toyota and Chevrolet each claim two chart positions on iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-viewed automotive commercials – the ads that have generated the highest number of impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings.

Toyota tops the list for the week of Feb. 7 with one of its two “Start Your Impossible” campaign spots, but just barely. Toyota’s “Ice Match” bests Chevrolet’s “Taco Truck” by a mere 714,184 impressions. 

All four ads from the two automakers aired almost exclusively during the Winter Olympics, which delivered 90% of the total impressions generated among them. 

According to iSpot’s Ace Metrix survey data, Toyota’s “Start Your Impossible” campaign resonates with viewers as “inspiring” and “heartfelt,” while the characters featured in the spots were named the “single best thing” about the ads twice as much as industry norms. 

But Chevrolet’s “Walter in Winter” commercial takes the clear lead in terms of viewer reaction. The ad’s overall Ace scores are 15.5% higher than industry norms – the highest of all five on the list – particularly in regard to “attention” (17.4% above industry norms), “likeability” (+20.3%) and “watchability” (+11.2%).

Hyundai rounds out the list again with “History of Evolution,” featuring Jason Bateman promoting the Ioniq 5 BEV. It’s the only spot on the list that aired during the Super Bowl pregame segments.

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Toyota: Start Your Impossible: Ice Match

Impressions: 233,027,071

Interruption Rate: 1.35%

Attention Index: 122

Est. TV Spend: $14,829,492

Chevrolet: Taco Truck

Impressions: 232,312,887

Interruption Rate: 2.16% 

Attention Index: 110

Est. TV Spend: $12,586,003

Toyota: Start Your Impossible: Beautiful Movement 

Impressions: 171,542,684

Interruption Rate: 2.83% 

Attention Index: 106

Est. TV Spend: $16,614,737

Chevrolet: Walter in Winter

Impressions: 162,666,322

Interruption Rate: 3.07%

Attention Index: 115

Est. TV Spend: $18,006,036

Hyundai: History of Evolution

Impressions: 146,259,169

Interruption Rate: 2.18%

Attention Index: 122 

Est. TV Spend: $3,434,140

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.