Jeep Promises ‘Room for the Unexpected’ in Most-Seen Auto TV Ad

Jeep leads iSpot.tv’s latest ranking of the most-seen auto TV ads with a spot that received 220.8 million national TV ad impressions across April 1-7. 

The commercial highlights various available features of the Grand Cherokee, such as a McIntosh Entertainment System, a front passenger screen and a 10.1-in. (26-cm) touchscreen — plus extra “room for the unexpected.” Top programming by impressions included the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (20.8 million), Today (11 million) and Today 3rd Hour (8.9 million). Looking at networks, NBC led with 36.7 million impressions, followed by MSNBC (24.6 million) and CBS (16.9 million). According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this spot had an overall Persuasion score 10% above industry norms.

Kia takes second place with a spot for the Sorento that had 210.8 million national TV ad impressions, 71% of which came from primetime airings. Across all dayparts, ABC was the No.1 impressions-generating network, delivering 39.1 million, followed by CBS (31.8 million) and NBC (20.5 million). On the programming side of things, American Idol and NBA games were nearly tied for impressions at about 9.5 million each, while FBI was third with 5.9 million. Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial had an 89% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Kia ad after watching it), above the recent automotive industry norm of 75%.

At No.3 with 164.3 million national TV ad impressions is a Ram Trucks spot promoting several deals available on specific models during the automaker’s Truck Month. Cable networks did the heavy lifting when it came to impressions, led by MSNBC (18.1 million), Fox News (12.8 million) and Paramount Network (11.2 million). Looking at top programming, Forensic Files led the list with 6.1 million impressions, followed by Two and a Half Men (4.4 million) and The Beat With Ari Melber (3.3 million). 

Subaru finished out the ranking with two spots. In fourth place is “A Beautiful Silence,” which ran up 111.1 million national TV ad impressions, while the No.5 ad, “Push Your Limits,” had 107.4 million. For both, HGTV and TBS led the list of networks by impressions, delivering about 13 million and 10 million impressions, respectively, for each spot. Similarly, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit was the top program for both commercials, generating 5.5 million impressions for the No.4 ad and 4.6 million for Subaru’s fifth-place spot.  

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1. Jeep: Celebration Event: Room for the Unexpected

Impressions: 220,795,415 

Interruption Rate: 2.98%

Attention Index: 106

Est. TV Spend: $4,712,477

2. Kia: Built for the Unstoppable 

Impressions: 210,767,491 

Interruption Rate: 3.28%

Attention Index: 108

Est. TV Spend: $2,469,931

3. Ram Trucks: Truck Month: Do Trucks 

Impressions: 164,288,534 

Interruption Rate: 3.40%

Attention Index: 92

Est. TV Spend: $2,177,141

4. Subaru: A Beautiful Silence 

Impressions: 111,135,441 

Interruption Rate: 3.38%

Attention Index: 89

Est. TV Spend: $913,151

5. Subaru: Push Your Limits 

Impressions: 107,433,790 

Interruption Rate: 3.24%

Attention Index: 92

Est. TV Spend: $916,753

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.