Automakers Activate Around Football With Latest Most-Seen TV Ads

The end of August means the return of football, and automakers are getting in on the action. Each of the top five ads on iSpot’s ranking for August 19-25 aired during either NFL preseason or college football games – and in some cases, both. 

Hyundai claims first place by a wide margin, racking up 246.1 million national TV ad impressions with “Summer: Add More Joy.” Sports delivered the most reach, with both NFL and MLB games accounting for over 8% of its impressions; Little League Baseball was also among the top programming by impressions. Nearly 29% of the commercial’s impressions came from primetime ad airings. Across all dayparts, ABC was the No.1 network by impressions (17%), followed by NBC (8%) and The CW (5%). 

At No.2 is a Ram Trucks commercial highlighting the special deals available on most 2025 Ram 1500 models during its “Make This the Summer Event.” College football and MLB games each generated about 4% of its 184.3 million national TV ad impressions. According to iSpot's Creative Assessment, this spot had a brand match of 88% (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Ram Trucks ad after watching it), above the recent automotive industry norm of 76%. It also garnered a Persuasion score 9% above average. 

Although Mercedes-Benz did air its third-place spot during NFL games, it was HGTV that delivered the most reach: 30% of its total 142.9 million national TV ad impressions. House Hunters was the top program by impressions (9%), while My Lottery Dream Home accounted for 4% and House Hunters International generated 3%. Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 28% of surveyed viewers considered the product itself to be the “single best thing” about the commercial. 

Subaru’s No.4 spot calls out how Consumer Reports ranked it as 2024’s “Best Mainstream Automotive Brand” and highlights the deals available during its “A Lot to Love Event.” While college football was among the top five programs for impressions, the commercial achieved wider reach through morning news programming, particularly Today – which delivered 13% of its 142.8 million national TV ad impressions – and Good Morning America (6%). NBC and ABC led for network impressions, with each generating about 18%, while CBS ran up 10%.

Jeep rounds out the ranking with “Make the Most,” which received 138.8 million national TV ad impressions. CBS and CNN each delivered about 8% of the total impressions, with another 6% coming from airings on MSNBC. On the programming side, NFL games led (6% of impressions), followed by Forensic Files and The Five (both accounting for 3% of impressions). 

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1. Hyundai: Summer: Add More Joy 

Impressions: 246,065,835 

Interruption Rate: 2.42%

Attention Index: 107

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,115,230

2. Ram Trucks: The Calling: Sparks

Impressions: 184,312,748 

Interruption Rate: 3.74%

Attention Index: 84

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $955,411

3. Mercedes-Benz: Make Your Dreams Come True

Impressions: 142,937,229 

Interruption Rate: 3.19%

Attention Index: 95

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,258,211

4. Subaru: 2024 Best Mainstream Automotive Brand

Impressions: 142,750,392  

Interruption Rate: 3.21%

Attention Index: 98

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,177,785

5. Jeep: Make the Most

Impressions: 138,788,368 

Interruption Rate: 3.81%

Attention Index: 83

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $554,988

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.