Hyundai Owns Latest Most-Seen Auto TV AdHyundai Owns Latest Most-Seen Auto TV Ad

Sports, led by the NFL, was a primary driver of reach for all five of the most-seen auto TV ads, based on iSpot’s analysis for Jan. 13-19.

In the first-place ad, a Hyundai Santa Fe zips through an Amazon warehouse, highlighting how consumers can buy a vehicle on Amazon and then pick it up at a dealer. Over a third of the spot’s total 243.6 million national TV ad impressions came from NFL games, followed by the NBA (5.8%) and Football Night in America (5.2%). Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 29% of surveyed viewers considered the visual scenes to be the “single best thing” about the ad, while another 17% preferred the music (from The Hollywood Prime Time Orchestra) above other aspects. 

At No. 2 with 169.3 million national TV ad impressions is a spot for the Lexus TX. Seven of the top 10 programs by reach were sports-related, led by the NFL (14.7% of total impressions), Monday Night Countdown (8%) and men’s college basketball (6.2%). While the other spots on the ranking had a broadcast network lead for reach, Lexus prioritized cable networks: ESPN accounted for 31.5% of the spot’s total reach, followed by NFL Network (10.8%) and ESPN2 (7.92%). 

Winter fun is on the agenda in Jeep’s third-place spot, which urges viewers to “open your eyes, grab your gear and get out here.” A single ad airing during the Divisional Round NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens generated a full 25% of the ad’s total 122.1 million national TV ad impressions.

Other top programming by impressions included men’s college basketball (9.4%), Special Report With Bret Baier (5.5%) and CBS Mornings (4.9%). The commercial inspired notable positive purchase intent, with 48% of iSpot’s Creative Assessment survey respondents saying they were “more” or “much more” likely to purchase after viewing the ad.

Kia’s “Elevated by the Dark” takes fourth place with 100 million national TV ad impressions, 80% of which came from primetime ad airings. Nearly half (49%) of the spot’s total reach came from the NFL, and other top programming included the NBA (4% of total impressions), Shifting Gears (3.2%) and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage (3%). 

The No. 5 ad from Mercedes-Benz features actor Antonio Banderas vicariously living a day in the life of his daughter Stella, thanks to the personalized features offered by the ’25 E-Class series. This spot scored above the automotive average for attention, likability and watchability, with 19% of survey respondents citing the characters as the “single best thing” about the commercial. The NFL generated nearly 73% of the spot’s total 98.4 million national TV ad impressions, while additional reach came from multiple HGTV programs including House Hunters (8.1% of total impressions), Fixer to Fabulous (3.9%), My Lottery Dream Home (3.1%) and The Flipping El Moussas (1.4%). 

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1. Hyundai: Add to Cart

Impressions: 243,583,449           

Interruption Rate: 3.16%

Attention Index: 116

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,057,487

2.  Lexus: Baby on Board

Impressions: 169,327,302     

Interruption Rate: 2.00%

Attention Index: 106

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,395,870

3. Jeep: Open Your Eyes

Impressions: 122,137,715        

Interruption Rate: 3.12%

Attention Index: 112

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $503,767

4. Kia: Elevated By the Dark

Impressions: 100,010,556         

Interruption Rate: 3.65%

Attention Index: 111

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $565,798

5. Mercedes-Benz: Knows Your Day. Drives Your Way.

Impressions: 98,352,407     

Interruption Rate: 2.74%

Attention Index: 122

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,465,007

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.