Football Delivers Wide Reach for Latest Most-Seen Auto TV Ads

Football was a primary driver of reach for all of the commercials on iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-seen auto TV ads for Sept. 30 through Oct. 6, with each spot airing during both NFL and college games. 

Ram Trucks’ “The Calling: Blessed” takes first place with 138.4 million national TV ad impressions, 39% of which came from NFL games, while college football delivered another 19% of impressions. And thanks largely to the NFL, Sunday airings generated the largest share of the ad’s impressions, 62%. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial had a remarkable 93% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Ram Trucks ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 78%.

While the two Lexus spots on the chart both achieved wide reach through football and MLB games, they have notably different creative approaches.The second-place ad from Lexus (131 million national TV ad impressions) takes a storytelling route, showing two parents having the time of their lives after dropping their daughter off at college. This spot performed above the automotive norm for attention, likeability, watchability and desire. 

Meanwhile, the No.4 commercial from Lexus (118.5 million impressions) zeroes in on the various features available in ES models. This focus seemed to resonate with audiences, with 30% of surveyed viewers citing the product itself as the “single best thing” about the ad. Additionally, 49% of respondents said they were “much” or “somewhat” more likely to purchase after viewing the spot.

Kia takes third place with a spot for the Carnival that received 124.2 million national TV ad impressions, 15% of which came from NFL games. Outside of sports, reality TV programs also delivered notable reach, including 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days (4% of impressions) and The Golden Bachelorette (3%). 

Jeep’s “You Know: Middle of Nowhere” rounds out the ranking with 107.1 million national TV ad impressions, a majority of which came from sports-related programming. NFL games delivered a full 50% of the spot’s reach, with another 20% coming from more economical placements across The NFL Today and NFL on Fox Postgame. College football games generated about 16% of the ad’s total impressions.  

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1. Ram Trucks: The Calling: Blessed 

Impressions: 138,357,911

Interruption Rate: 3.59%

Attention Index: 94

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $9,765,036

2. Lexus: Free

Impressions: 130,961,228

Interruption Rate: 1.89%

Attention Index: 97

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $644,993

3. Kia: VIP Lounge Seating

Impressions: 124,191,290

Interruption Rate: 4.48%

Attention Index: 74

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,527,618

4. Lexus: We Heard You

Impressions: 118,493,963

Interruption Rate: 2.03%

Attention Index: 79

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $596,236

5. Jeep: You Know: Middle of Nowhere

Impressions: 107,117,784 

Interruption Rate: 3.34%

Attention Index: 112

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $5,678,958

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.