Auto Industry Dominates Olympic Advertising Impressions

With the Olympics now behind us, Nissan’s “Return To Rugged” spot returns to the top position on iSpot’s ranking of the most-viewed automotive commercials for the week of Aug. 9.

Jim Irwin, Associate Editor

August 20, 2021

3 Min Read
Nissan-Pathfinder-22
Nissan has most-viewed auto ad for second time in three weeks.

Olympic Games programming was the dominant target for much of the auto industry’s advertising activity in recent weeks. According to iSpot.tv, automotive had the most ad impressions during the 2021 Olympics among all advertisers, after ranking second as an industry in the 2016 Games.

With that event now behind us, Nissan’s “Return To Rugged” spot returns to the top position on iSpot’s ranking of the most-viewed automotive commercials for the week of Aug. 9. The Weather Channel, SYFY and Hallmark provided the most views. The spot overperformed in every category among viewers surveyed by iSpot’s Ace Metrix, who found it 9.9% more likable and 10.2% more desirable than the industry average.

Lincoln remains a force on the list with its still-popular “Summer Is A State Of Mind” for the Nautilus luxury CUV. Ace Metrix viewers found it 11.8% more likeable than the industry norm and 9.2% more watchable. The ad’s summer- and ocean-themed scenery dominated viewers’ attention, with 45% naming it the single best thing about the spot. 

Appearing with a second ad on the list is Nissan with its “60 Years in 30 Seconds” spot featuring Captain Marvel actress Brie Larson. While ranked third among auto ads by impressions, it ranked first in several Ace Metrix categories, scoring 11.4% above the industry norm in attention, 12.7% in likeability and 16.5% in desire. Nissan leaned on procedurals Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Criminal Minds along with sports programming such as SportsCenter and Little League Baseball to drive views. 

Dodge tapped reality and game show programming to drive impressions for “Life Lessons,” featuring actor Gary Cole reprising his Talladega Nights role as race car driver Ricky Bobby’s father in a “prequel” spot of sorts. Ace Metrix survey respondents loved the characters, which 19% cite as the single best thing about the ad. The top shows contributing the most impressions included Big Brother, MasterChef, America Says and Quick Pitch.

Rounding out this week’s list is Jeep’s “Wildly Civilized” spot, which tapped NFL preseason football along with syndicated shows including Murder, She Wrote and The Golden Girls to deliver its message. Ace Metrix viewers appreciated the ad’s details, scoring it 12.3% higher than the industry norm in terms of its information and 7.5% higher in relevance – not to mention a 70% brand recognition rating (meaning 70% of those surveyed remembered it was a Jeep ad after watching it). 

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Nissan: Return to Rugged

Impressions: 213,112,419 

Interruption Rate: 1.58% 

Attention Index: 98 

Est. TV Spend: $1,113,102

 

Lincoln Motor Company: Summer Is a State of Mind

Impressions: 203,585,912 

Interruption Rate: 2.81% 

Attention Index: 97 

Est. TV Spend: $1,163,353

 

Nissan: 60 Years in 30 Seconds

Impressions: 171,016,865 

Interruption Rate: 1.74% 

Attention Index: 98 

Est. TV Spend: $984,395

 

Dodge: Life Lessons

Impressions: 163,106,686 

Interruption Rate: 2.11% 

Attention Index: 98 

Est. TV Spend: $1,120,256

 

Jeep: Wildly Civilized

Impressions: 157,026,304 

Interruption Rate: 2.71% 

Attention Index: 97 

Est. TV Spend: $1,038,178


 

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

Ace Metrix 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.

 

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