Nissan Chases Pup on the Run in Most-Seen Auto TV Ad

With 191.4 million national TV ad impressions, a commercial for the ’23 Nissan Rogue takes first place on iSpot.tv’s ranking of the most-seen auto TV ads for Sept. 25 through Oct. 1. 

The spot highlights the model’s five drive modes while a man chases down a rambunctious dog. Fox was the top impressions-driving network, accounting for 19% of the ad’s total impressions. According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial had an 84% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Nissan ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 75%.

Hyundai takes second place with a spot for the ’24 Kona. Just over 72% of its 132.4 million national TV ad impressions came from primetime ad airings. Across all dayparts, NBC was the top network by impressions, delivering 102.8 million, far ahead of the No.2 network (USA, 10.5 million). Top programming by impressions included NFL games (69.5 million), the 2023 Ryder Cup (28.5 million) and Football Night in America (10.5 million). 

A Jeep Grand Wagoneer commercial featuring Derek and Hannah Jeter is in third place with 126.4 million national TV ad impressions. Sports and related programming accounted for 43% of the spot’s impressions, led by the 2023 Ryder Cup (43.1 million), college football (21 million) and NFL games (20.3 million). 

At No.4: Kia’s “Larger Than Life Adventures,” which highlights how various road conditions are no match for the “ruggedly capable” Telluride X-Pro. It ran up 118.1 million national TV ad impressions, 15.2 million of which came from airings during NFL games, 12.8 million from America's Got Talent and 5 million from Dancing With the Stars. Per iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this ad scored above the automotive average for attention, likability and desire. 

Subaru rounds out the ranking, slipping from fourth to fifth week-over-week with 108.8 million national TV ad impressions for its Crosstrek Wilderness spot. In contrast to the other four commercials on the chart that saw broadcast networks delivering top impression counts, Subaru’s spot leaned heavily on cable networks, led by Animal Planet (11 million impressions), Paramount Network (9 million) and Discovery (8.9 million). 

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1. Nissan: Pup on the Run 

Impressions: 191,382,316

Interruption Rate: 2.52%

Attention Index: 101

Est. TV Spend: $888,121

2. Hyundai: Welcome Back to the Commute 

Impressions: 132,378,128

Interruption Rate: 2.95%

Attention Index: 90

Est. TV Spend: $2,207,503

3. Jeep: Drove All Night

Impressions: 126,405,021

Interruption Rate: 1.98%

Attention Index: 126

Est. TV Spend: $1,567,398

4. Kia: Larger Than Life Adventures

Impressions: 118,071,363

Interruption Rate: 3.69%

Attention Index: 92

Est. TV Spend: $1,662,624

5. Subaru: Push Your Limits

Impressions: 108,827,041

Interruption Rate: 3.57%

Attention Index: 96

Est. TV Spend: $886,353

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.