Honda Chases a Dream in Latest Most-Seen Auto TV Ad

With 153.7 million national TV ad impressions, Honda takes first place on iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-seen auto TV commercials for Jan. 29 through Feb. 4. The spot introduces the all-electric Prologue, which, the voiceover explains, embodies the automaker’s latest dream. Cable networks delivered top impression-counts, led by Bravo (20.4 million), TNT (12 million) and Discovery (11.6 million). According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial had an 89% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Honda ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 78%.

At No.2: A Hyundai spot for the ’24 Santa Fe highlighting the vehicle’s wireless charging capabilities. It ran up 118.2 million national TV ad impressions, 51% of which came from primetime ad airings. Top programming by impressions included the NBA (21.7 million), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (10.3 million) and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (7 million). Networks generating the most impressions included ABC (21.6 million), NBC (12.9 million) and TNT (11.9 million). 

Third place goes to a Lexus spot that pokes fun at futuristic AI delivery bots, calling out how the NX models have “technology that’s ready for the road ahead.” It received 118 million national TV ad impressions, led by men’s college basketball (16.8 million), Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (5.1 million) and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (5 million). ESPN was the No.1 network by impressions by a wide margin, generating 24.1 million, followed by USA (9.4 million) and Food Network (8.6 million). Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 29% of surveyed viewers considered the visual scenes to be the single best thing about the ad.

Kia’s “Larger Than Life Adventures,” featuring the “ruggedly capable” Telluride X-Pro taking on assorted obstacles, is in fourth place with 114.4 million national TV ad impressions. Top impression-generating networks included ABC (11.4 million), Fox News (9.4 million) and HGTV (7.6 million), while top programming included men’s college basketball (7.6 million), The Bachelor (4.4 million) and Shark Tank (3.6 million). 

Subaru remains in fifth place week-over-week with a spot for the Forester Wilderness that had 108.2 million national TV ad impressions, a 23% decrease from the previous week. It was the only automaker that ran a spot during the 66th Annual Grammy Awards, an airing that delivered 9.5 million impressions – more than twice the No.2 program, Expedition Unknown (4.4 million). 

(Click on blue links for videos) 

1. Honda: Latest Innovation 

Impressions: 153,720,095 

Interruption Rate: 3.18%

Attention Index: 101

Est. TV Spend: $1,322,260

2. Hyundai: Conquer the Weekend: Vikings

Impressions: 118,242,678 

Interruption Rate: 2.59%

Attention Index: 111

Est. TV Spend: $1,101,872

3. Lexus: Future Proof 

Impressions: 117,951,702 

Interruption Rate: 1.69%

Attention Index: 108

Est. TV Spend: $551,259

4. Kia: Larger Than Life Adventures 

Impressions: 114,420,118 

Interruption Rate: 3.62%

Attention Index: 103

Est. TV Spend: $893,187

5. Subaru: A Beautiful Silence

Impressions: 108,183,630 

Interruption Rate: 3.24%

Attention Index: 95

Est. TV Spend: $1,551,480

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.