Toyota Spots Dominate Latest Ranking of Most-Seen Auto TV Ads

Thanks to wide activation around Olympics coverage, Toyota spots dominate iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-seen auto TV ads for July 29 through Aug. 4.

Toyota’s No.1 commercial, “Almost Lost You,” chronicles the “tragedy to triumph” journey undertaken by Olympic BMX racer Alise Willoughby and her husband/coach Sam. The true story resonated with audiences: According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, 25% of viewers considered the message to be the “single best thing” about the ad, while “heartfelt” and “inspiring” were two of the top emotions/reactions. 

Toyota celebrates other Olympic athletes in its other spots on the chart. The fourth-place ad features Nikola Karabatić demonstrating his agile handball skills with everyday objects, while the No.5 spot stars Gabby Thomas (track and field), weightlifter David Liti and long-distance runner Gladys Tejeda, with the tagline “we believe no journey is taken alone.” This commercial scored above the automotive norm for likeability, with 24% of viewers considering the message the “single best thing” about the ad, while 13% found the characters compelling. 

The remaining two ads on the ranking promote summer sales events from Hyundai and Volkswagen. 

In second place is Hyundai’s “Summer: Add More Joy.” Over 30% of its total 141.5 million national TV ad impressions came from primetime ad airings. Across all dayparts, ABC was the top impressions-generating network (16% of total impressions), fueled in part by The Bachelorette. This spot had a brand match of 83% (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Hyundai ad after watching it), above the recent automotive industry norm of 77%.

Volkswagen’s No.3 commercial, highlighting available deals on the ’24 Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport models, scored above the automotive norm for multiple factors including watchability and information. Over 17% of the spot’s total 140.1 million national TV ad impressions came from MSNBC, while CNN delivered another 11%.

(Click on blue links for videos) 

1. Toyota: Olympics: Almost Lost You

Impressions: 166,221,501 

Interruption Rate: 3.50%

Attention Index: 101

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $2,197,685

2. Hyundai: Summer: Add More Joy

Impressions: 141,532,677 

Interruption Rate: 3.32%

Attention Index: 94

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $798,106

3. Volkswagen: Hot Dog 

Impressions: 140,082,378  

Interruption Rate: 3.99%

Attention Index: 101

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $971,607

4. Toyota: 2024 Summer Olympics: Start Your Impossible

Impressions: 137,552,366 

Interruption Rate: 1.86%

Attention Index: 141

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,631,853

5. Toyota: Olympics: Send Off

Impressions: 126,085,000  

Interruption Rate: 2.76%

Attention Index: 107

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,374,813

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.