AFC Title Game Drives TV Ad Traffic to JeepAFC Title Game Drives TV Ad Traffic to Jeep

With both the NFL and college football seasons winding down, several automakers were keen to harness wide audience tune-in for the final games before the Super Bowl. Jeep’s No. 1 ad, as ranked by iSpot.tv’s national TV ad impressions from Jan. 20-26, achieved extensive reach through the Bills vs. Chiefs AFC championship game, while ads from Hyundai and Volkswagen prioritized the college football final on Jan. 20.

Jeep’s Start Something New Sales Event promotion racked up 148.1 million national TV ad impressions during the week, with nearly 31% coming from just two airings during the Bills vs. Chiefs NFL conference championship game. Additional reach came from CBS Mornings (4.2% of total impressions), PGA Tour golf (3%) and The Story With Martha MacCallum (2.8%). Top networks by impressions included CBS (44%), Fox News (12.3%) and CNN (6%). 

With 127.4 million national TV ad impressions, Hyundai takes second place with a commercial highlighting how its vehicles can be purchased on Amazon. The college football final between Ohio State and Notre Dame generated 14.5% of the spot’s total impressions, while NBA games accounted for 11.6%. Additional reach came from The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (3.5% of total impressions) plus drama series including The Rookie (3.8%), High Potential (3.7%), Will Trent (3.3%) and The Irrational (3%). 

In the No.3 ad from Lexus, two soon-to-be parents prepare for the arrival of twins. And thanks to the three-row TX, there’s room for the growing family – dogs included. Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 23% of surveyed viewers considered the characters to be the “single best thing” about the ad, with one male respondent between 21-35 years old remarking, “I liked the dogs and the young expecting couple. Made it seem more realistic.” While this ad did air across various sports and related programming, it was reruns of The Big Bang Theory that led for reach, generating 5.5% of the spot’s total 122.5 million national TV ad impressions. Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives was the No.2 program by impressions (4.3%), followed by men’s college basketball (3.4%), SportsCenter (3.4%) and NFL GameDay Morning (2.8%). 

A colorful, upbeat spot for the electric Volkswagen ID. Buzz takes fourth place with 114.9 million national TV ad impressions, 16.2% of which came from the college football championship game. House Hunters was the No.2 programming by reach (8.1%), followed by Jimmy Kimmel Live (7.3%) and Chicago Med (4.4%). On the network side of things, HGTV delivered nearly a quarter of the ad’s total reach, with another 13.4% coming from NBC and 12.7% from ESPN. 

“Upscale” was a leading viewer emotion/reaction to Kia’s fifth-place ad, showcasing the X-Line Nightfall Collection. Kia focused on NBA games, with 54 ad airings that resulted in 8.8% of the spot’s total 112.9 million national TV ad impressions. But notably, other programming delivered reach with far fewer airings: A single airing during Watson accounted for 5.7% of total impressions, and one airing during Chicago Med generated 4.6%. Looking at networks, CBS and HGTV were nearly tied for impression delivery (11.3% and 11%, respectively), followed by Fox (8.6%). 

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1. Jeep: Open Your Eyes 

Impressions: 148,107,987          

Interruption Rate: 3.07%

Attention Index: 118

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $6,580,443

2. Hyundai: Add to Cart

Impressions: 127,370,906      

Interruption Rate: 2.79%

Attention Index: 119

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,900,325

3. Lexus: Baby on Board

Impressions: 122,463,036         

Interruption Rate: 1.96%

Attention Index: 108

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,010,529

4. Volkswagen: A Life Half-Full

Impressions: 114,915,020          

Interruption Rate: 2.16%

Attention Index: 121

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,565,845

5. Kia: Elevated By the Dark

Impressions: 112,897,971  

Interruption Rate: 3.46%

Attention Index: 112

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,491,273

Data provided by iSpot, The New Standard for TV Ad Measurement.

Chart positions and other data may be updated in iSpot’s database as additional airings information becomes available. 

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.