Asian Brands Dominate List of Most-Viewed Auto Ads

Toyota, Nissan and Subaru top iSpot.tv’s list of the most-viewed automotive commercials – the ads that have generated the highest number of impressions across national broadcast and cable TV airings – for the week of Feb. 21.

No more live football. No more Olympics. So where did U.S. automakers turn for TV advertising last week? The answer is a mix of news, procedural drama, syndicated comedies and basketball. 

Leading the list is Toyota, with the top two spots: “Born for Bringin’ It” and “Born for the Wild.” Friends reruns drove the most impressions for both ads, with the CBS Morning News taking a close second. 

According to iSpot’s Ace Metrix survey data, “Born for Bringin’ It” edges out “Born for the Wild” in both “likeability” and “watchability” scores, ranking 4.3% and 3% above industry norms in those categories, respectively, to 3.5% and 0.7% for “Wild.”

Nissan leverages college and NBA basketball games to place third on the list with “Electric Cars for Electric Drivers,” with an assist from NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt and ABC World News Tonight with David Muir.

Subaru rounds out the list with the last two spots: “Shopping” and “Well Adventured.” Procedural dramas Chicago Med, Chicago P.D. and Chicago Fire joined the Today show to deliver the bulk of impressions between them. 

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Toyota: Born for Bringin' It

Impressions: 268,604,209 

Interruption Rate: 1.66% 

Attention Index: 117 

Est. TV Spend: $1,761,079

Toyota: Born for the Wild

Impressions: 259,893,833 

Interruption Rate: 1.59% 

Attention Index: 114 

Est. TV Spend: $1,939,644

Nissan: Electric Cars for Electric Drivers

Impressions: 201,917,271 

Interruption Rate: 2.10% 

Attention Index: 107 

Est. TV Spend: $1,741,266

Subaru: Shopping

Impressions: 153,608,783 

Interruption Rate: 3.65% 

Attention Index: 76 

Est. TV Spend: $1,372,933

Subaru: Well Adventured

Impressions: 148,275,786

Interruption Rate: 2.38%

Attention Index: 110

Est. TV Spend: $1,305,032

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.