Nissan Boasts Three of Top Five Most-Viewed Auto Ads

Jeep remains No.1 and Nissan claims three of the top five spots in iSpot.tv’s ranking of the  

most-viewed automotive commercials – the ads that have generated the most impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings.

Jeep’s “Wildly Civilized” spot maintains its first-place ranking for the week of Aug. 23 thanks in a large part to spending 2.5 times as much as its closest competitor on national TV. Jeep dropped an estimated $2.6 million airing the ad this week, primarily focusing on NFL football programming, although it was live coverage of Hurricane Ida on The Weather Channel that drove the most impressions.

According to Ace Metrix Creative Assessment survey data, the visuals are the clear standout of the spot, with 27% of respondents naming it the best thing about the ad. 

Nissan, however, owns the list overall with three of the top five entries sitting at No. 2, 4 and 5. “60 Years in 30 Seconds” rises up a rank to the No.2 spot with over 205 million impressions backed by an estimated national ad budget of over $1 million. “Return to Rugged” drops to fourth place, and “Devils Drop” debuts in fifth. 

Like the first-place Jeep ad, all three Nissan ads gained the most impressions from The Weather Channel’s live Ida tracking coverage. According to Ace Metrix survey data, “60 Seconds,” featuring actress Brie Larson, continues its run as a fan favorite, scoring above the industry norm in likeability (10.1%), watchability (5.6%) and desire (12.7%). “Return to Rugged” places second (among these top five ads) in all three categories at 7.3%, 4% and 6.3%, respectively. 

Lincoln returns to the list in third place with its “Summer Is a State of Mind” spot promoting the Nautilus. It was the only ad of the week that didn’t rely on The Weather Channel for impressions, instead tapping news programming across Fox News, CNN and MSNBC for attention. Of the three networks, Fox News programs delivered the most views, sweeping the top five shows with Fox & Friends first, followed by Special Report With Bret Baier, Fox News Primetime, Hannity and The Five. The spot scored highest among Ace Metrix survey viewers in desire, at 11.3% above the auto industry norm. 

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Jeep: Wildly Civilized

Impressions: 399,817,720 

Interruption Rate: 2.86% 

Attention Index: 91 

Est. TV Spend: $2,635,881

Nissan: 60 Years in 30 Seconds

Impressions: 205,636,990 

Interruption Rate: 1.81% 

Attention Index: 96 

Est. TV Spend: $1,093,616

Lincoln Motor Company: Summer Is a State of Mind

Impressions: 199,794,469 

Interruption Rate: 3.35% 

Attention Index: 92 

Est. TV Spend: $1,171,420

Nissan: Return to Rugged

Impressions: 176,657,232 

Interruption Rate: 1.62% 

Attention Index: 102 

Est. TV Spend: $725,353

Nissan: Devil's Drop

Impressions: 152,115,295 

Interruption Rate: 1.66% 

Attention Index: 107 

Est. TV Spend: $687,967

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.