Ram Trucks’ “Blessed” on a Winning Streak for Auto TV Ad Reach

For seven weeks in a row, Ram Trucks’ “Blessed” has held the No.1 position on iSpot.tv’s weekly ranking of the most-seen auto TV ads. Football has been instrumental to the ad’s ongoing reach, and it was no different for Nov. 11-17: NFL games delivered 20% of the spot’s total 162.4 million national TV ad impressions, with another 12% coming from college football games. Unlike the other four spots on the ranking, which saw the widest reach from primetime ad airings, the top daypart for this commercial was weekend afternoons, accounting for over 30% of its total impressions (much of that fueled by, you guessed it, football). 

The second-place spot from Volkswagen also harnessed football to get in front of viewers, with the NFL generating 21% of its total 142.3 million national TV ad impressions, while college football games provided 14%. Primetime was the top daypart by reach (56% of impressions), with top programming outside of football including Dancing With the Stars, Fire Country and Chicago P.D.

College football ruled for Hyundai’s third-place ad, delivering 16% of its total of 133.6 million national TV ad impressions. Saturday Night Live was the No.2 program by impressions (10%), followed by Seinfeld (7%). According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial had an 89% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Hyundai ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 80%.

Subaru rounds out the ranking with two commercials that had a combined 217 million national TV ad impressions. The spots take a storytelling approach, with “heartfelt” a top emotion/reaction cited by iSpot Creative Assessment respondents for both. 

At No.4 with 112.8 million national TV ad impressions is “Shelter Dog,” showing a woman patiently coaxing a shy, newly adopted dog out of her Subaru. Unlike the other ads on the ranking, football was not the top driver of reach. Today led with 6% of its total impressions, while FBI, Good Morning America, Dancing With the Stars and Matlock each delivered another 5%. From a creative performance standpoint, this spot shines: It scored above the automotive norm for attention, likeability, watchability, desire and relevance. Additionally, 17% of respondents said the characters were the “single best thing” about the ad. 

“The Moment” takes fifth place with 104.2 million national TV ad impressions, 11% of which came from college football games. Good Morning America delivered another 6%, followed by The Voice (5%) and Today (4%). The commercial’s message – a family is safe after a horrific car accident, thanks to their Outback – was cited as the “single best thing” about the ad by 23% of viewers. 

(Click on blue links for videos) 

1. Ram Trucks: The Calling: Blessed 

Impressions: 162,388,781    

Interruption Rate: 2.85%

Attention Index: 119

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $6,273,507

2. Volkswagen: More Squiggly

Impressions: 142,315,501    

Interruption Rate: 3.69%

Attention Index: 109

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,225,146

3. Hyundai: Nothing Feels as Good

Impressions: 133,631,433 

Interruption Rate: 3.40%

Attention Index: 87

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,381,929

4. Subaru: Shelter Dog

Impressions: 112,833,554    

Interruption Rate: 3.47%

Attention Index: 86

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,295,775

5. Subaru: The Moment

Impressions: 104,215,426    

Interruption Rate: 4.23%

Attention Index: 66

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,155,927

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.