Hurricane Coverage Generates Reach for Several Most-Seen Auto TV Ads

Ads from Ram Trucks, Lexus and Subaru achieved notable reach through placements on The Weather Channel, as audiences tuned in to coverage of Hurricane Milton. And all of the top five commercials, as ranked by iSpot.tv’s national TV ad impressions from Oct. 7-13, activated around football and the MLB playoffs. 

The Weather Channel generated over 11% of the total 173.5 million national TV ad impressions received by Ram Trucks’ first-place spot, with 4.4% coming from airings during LIVE: Tracking Milton specifically. Airings during NFL and college football games also delivered wide — though presumably more expensive — reach, accounting for 23% and 12% of impressions, respectively. 

With 134.4 million national TV ad impressions, a spot for the 2024 Lexus RX takes second place. Over 20% of its total impressions came from airings on The Weather Channel across programs including LIVE: Tracking Milton, Weather Unfiltered and America’s Morning Headquarters. College football was another key driver of impressions, generating 16%, followed by the MLB playoffs (12%).

Of the spots on the ranking, Subaru’s No.3 ad leaned into The Weather Channel the most, with the network delivering 25% of its total 117.3 million impressions. America’s Morning Headquarters generated nearly 10% of the total impressions, with LIVE: Tracking Milton and college football games both accounting for 6%. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 23% of surveyed viewers considered Subaru’s safety-focused message to be the “single best thing” about the ad. 

College football and the MLB playoffs were the biggest reach drivers for the Genesis and Mercedes-Benz spots, and that’s not all they had in common: Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, viewers cited the visual scenes as the “single best thing” about both ads, at 36% and 28%, respectively. 

MLB playoff games generated just over 26% of the total 112.9 million impressions received by the Genesis ad, with additional reach coming from college football (19% of impressions) and NFL games (6%). The Mercedes-Benz commercial leaned even more on baseball, with nearly 47% of its 110.7 million impressions generated by the MLB playoffs, while college football delivered 15% and NFL games accounted for 9%. 

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1. Ram Trucks: The Calling: Blessed 

Impressions: 173,490,346 

Interruption Rate: 3.86%

Attention Index: 87

Est. National TV Ad Spend: 5,022,413

2. Lexus: Free

Impressions: 134,447,297 

Interruption Rate: 2.08%

Attention Index: 79

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $809,001

3. Subaru: The Moment

Impressions: 117,252,413 

Interruption Rate: 4.30%

Attention Index: 77

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $972,462

4. Genesis: Illuminated

Impressions: 112,888,877 

Interruption Rate: 4.02%

Attention Index: 75

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $596,236

5. Mercedes-Benz: SUV for U

Impressions: 110,730,400 

Interruption Rate: 3.96%

Attention Index: 85

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,799,840

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.