McCarthy Spot Tops Most Engaging Ad Chart for Kia

With help from actress and comedian Melissa McCarthy, Kia tops the weekly Most Engaging Auto Ads chart, powered for WardsAuto by iSpot.tv.

As with last week, all of the ads in the latest chart aired during Super Bowl LI on Fox but since have run again across different networks. (The period measured for today’s ranking is Feb. 6-12.)

Kia’s “Hero’s Journey” spot, which was prereleased online before the big game, shows a determined eco-warrior (McCarthy) throwing herself into various causes. Although she may not be successful in all her gung-ho efforts, with the hybrid Kia Niro at least her travel is environmentally friendly. Given its slapstick comedy, McCarthy’s star power and Super Bowl boost, it’s no wonder the spot has had TV viewers talking and sharing.

Second place goes to Hyundai with a heartfelt, family-themed spot that was produced live during the Super Bowl. Despite only airing three times so far (once immediately post-game and twice the following day, Feb. 6) this commercial has captured major attention and generated substantial buzz across the Internet; it had a little more than a quarter of the industry’s digital share of voice for the past week.

Audi takes third place with its “Daughter” spot, an ad that falls into the issues-oriented trend that was pronounced during this year’s Super Bowl. In it, a young girl goes up against a group of boys in a soap box derby. The bottom line is about Audi expressing its commitment to gender equality and equal pay for equal work, and that message resonated big-time with viewers.

At No. 4 is Honda with a star-studded commercial showing various celebrities’ high-school yearbook photos, including Amy Adams, Steve Carell and Tina Fey. (Some clever animation allows the old photographs to talk to viewers and encourage everyone to follow their dreams.) Finally, Buick closes out the chart with a spot featuring Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton.

iSpot.tv, the real-time TV ad measurement company with attention analytics from 10 million smart TV screens, allows customers to monitor social actions, search activity and online video views associated with TV spots across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google, Bing and Yahoo!.

powered by

1. Kia: Hero’s Journey

30.49% Digital Share of Voice, 11M Earned Online Views

2. Hyundai: A Better Super Bowl

25.99% Digital Share of Voice, 17M Earned Online Views

3. Audi: Daughter

14.18% Digital Share of Voice, 5M Earned Online Views

4. Honda: Yearbooks

8.01% Digital Share of Voice, 5M Earned Online Views

5. Buick: Not So Pee Wee Football

5.97% Digital Share of Voice, 1M Earned Online Views