Most-Seen Auto Ads Connect With College Football Viewers

A Lincoln ad claims the top spot in iSpot.tv’s weekly ranking of the most-viewed automotive commercials – the ads generating the highest number of impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings.

Lincoln’s “Unexpected” ad, No.1 for the week of Dec. 27, is joined by debuts by Mercedes-Benz and Jeep, which rank third and fifth, respectively. 

All three spots leaned heavily on the week’s college football playoff and bowl game broadcasts. Of the estimated $24.7 million spent to air the three ads on national TV last week, 61% was directed to college football games, which delivered 40% of the three ads’ combined impressions.

Leading the pack in both overall spending and college football focus is “Mrs. C” from Mercedes-Benz, which saw 91% of its estimated $10 million national ad budget devoted to the championship games, resulting in 70% of the ad’s total impressions. Viewers responded well to the spot, according to iSpot’s Ace Metrix survey data, scoring 12.2% higher than the industry norm for “likability” and 9% higher in both “attention” and “desire.”

But Subaru continues to dominate as the fan favorite. The company’s two spots highlighting its corporate giving efforts found their audience not in college football games, but instead through a mix of news, game shows and syndicated programming.

“Give Back Anthem” leads the pack in Ace Metrix “likeability” and “attention” categories with scores 15.6% and 9.5% above industry norms, respectively. Meanwhile, Subaru’s “Biggest Impact” leads in “watchability” at 8% above industry norms. 

Lincoln Motor Company: Wish List Event: Unexpected

Impressions: 298,716,169 

Interruption Rate: 2.25% 

Attention Index: 114 

Est. TV Spend: $5,582,574

Subaru: Share the Love Event: Give Back Anthem

Impressions: 222,128,289 

Interruption Rate: 3.40% 

Attention Index: 82 

Est. TV Spend: $2,885,085

Mercedes-Benz: Winter Event: Mrs. C

Impressions: 199,777,078 

Interruption Rate: 2.59% 

Attention Index: 108 

Est. TV Spend: $10,085,967

Subaru: Share the Love Event: The Largest Impact

Impressions: 199,390,299 

Interruption Rate: 2.90% 

Attention Index: 91 

Est. TV Spend: $2,310,812

Jeep: Big Finish 2021: No Bounds

Impressions: 125,774,091 

Interruption Rate: 2.30% 

Attention Index: 117 

Est. TV Spend: $3,925,847

Data provided by iSpot.tv, TV Ad Measurement for Disruptive Brands

*Ace Metrix auto industry norms data measured over the last 90 days.

TV Impressions - Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.

Interruption Rate - The rate at which the audience present at the beginning of your ad disengages with it before it ends.

Attention Index - A comparison of your ad’s Interruption Rate against your specific media placement. The Attention Index is measured on a scale of 0 to 200, where 100 is the average and means your ad is performing as expected.

Est. National TV Spend - Amount spent on TV airings for the brand’s spots.