Summer Sales Events Front and Center in Most-Seen Auto TV Ads

With the end of summer approaching, automakers are leaning into sales event promotions – but there are some differences in the approaches taken with the top five most-seen spots. 

Ram Trucks’ No.1 spot goes for a storytelling route, featuring sculpture artist/welder Luis Varela-Rico talking about finding his calling. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, the top emotions/reactions cited by viewers were “cinematic,” “heartfelt” and “inspiring.” Additionally, the ad performed above the automotive average for aspects including attention, likeability and desire. Nearly a third of its 243.8 million national TV ad impressions came from primetime ad airings. 

Jeep’s second-place ad offers a “vacation from payments” on various 2024 models, prompting 11% of surveyed viewers to consider the deal to be the “single best thing” about the commercial. Today delivered about 9% of its 218.1 million national TV ad impressions, with NBC as the overall top impression-generating network (12%). 

The No.3 spot from Hyundai also features a vacation theme, promoting its Getaway Sales Event. The vivid colors and seaside shots had 28% of surveyed viewers citing the visual scenes as the “single best thing” about the ad. Over 26% of its total 218 million national TV ad impressions came from primetime ad airings. Across all dayparts, top networks by impressions included ABC (12%), Fox (6%) and The CW (5%). 

Subaru takes an informational approach with its fourth-place ad, highlighting its eight models recommended by Consumer Reports this year and offering special rates on the 2025 Outback. Morning talk shows led for delivering reach, with Good Morning America and Today each accounting for about 7% of its 174.1 million national TV ad impressions. 

In fifth place is Volkswagen’s “Hot Dog” spot, which harnesses humor to capture attention: “funny” was the top emotion/reaction cited by surveyed viewers. Cable news networks led for network impressions, with MSNBC generating nearly 20% of the ad’s 164.4 million national TV ad impressions, followed by CNN with 9%. On the programming side of things, the 2024 Cincinnati Open led with nearly 7% of impressions, while The Last Word With Lawrence O’Donnell and The Beat With Ari Melber both delivered about 3% of impressions.

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1. Ram Trucks: The Calling: Sparks 
Impressions: 243,824,803 

Interruption Rate: 3.53%

Attention Index: 90

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,238,804

2. Jeep: Make the Most 

Impressions: 218,096,382 

Interruption Rate: 3.26%

Attention Index: 91

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,472,367

3. Hyundai: Summer: Add More Joy 

Impressions: 217,960,551 

Interruption Rate: 2.63%

Attention Index: 103

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,002,453

4. Subaru: 2024 Best Mainstream Automotive Brand

Impressions: 174,090,711  

Interruption Rate: 3.20%

Attention Index: 104

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,608,987

5. Volkswagen: Hot Dog 

Impressions: 164,357,694   

Interruption Rate: 3.83%

Attention Index: 92

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,193,574

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.