Toyota Spending Pays Off With Most TV Auto Ad Impressions

A Toyota spot grabs first place 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.

Toyota’s National Sales Event TV ad takes over the top position for the week of Aug. 2, bolstered by the highest estimated national TV spend and a wide range of programming targets. The commercial aired most on SportsCenter, CBS This Morning and reruns of Friends and The Golden Girls.

According to Ace Metrix Creative Assessment survey data from iSpot, viewers found the spot 6% more watchable than the norm for automakers in the past 90 days, and 4.8% more likeable. 

Nissan’s “Return to Rugged” falls back to second place, also targeting syndicated sitcoms such as Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men and The King of Queens. Viewers surveyed by Ace Metrix found the product in the ad 1.6% more desirable than the industry average.

Lincoln returns to the list at No.3 with the ocean-themed “Summer Is A State of Mind,” promoting the Nautilus model. Fox & Friends and Olympic Games programming generated most of the impressions for the ad, and Ace Metrix viewers loved it. The spot scored well above industry averages in terms of watchability (9.2%), likability (11.6%), attention-getting (9.8%) and desire (15.2%). 

Debuting at fourth is the “Video Game” commercial for the Chevrolet Equinox, featuring a father watching his son driving poorly in a driving game. The ad was featured heavily in Olympics programming, which represented a third of the overall airings and over 65% of the impressions tallied for the week. Viewers told Ace Metrix they found the safety-themed message the best thing about the ad, at 21%, while the product itself followed close behind at 18%.

Finally, Ford’s “Revolutionary” spot showcasing the automaker’s electric vehicle line falls to fifth. It too had a strong presence during Olympic programming, which drove nearly 70% of the ad’s total impressions last week. The innovation-themed message struck a chord with Ace Metrix viewers, who found it 16.5% more likable than the norm for auto creative while garnering 14.6% more attention. 

(click on blue links for videos)

Toyota: National Sales Event: Open New Doors

Impressions: 262,266,357 

Interruption Rate: 2.53% 

Attention Index: 98 

Est. TV Spend: $2,075,112

Nissan: Return to Rugged

Impressions: 251,813,353 

Interruption Rate: 1.64% 

Attention Index: 98 

Est. TV Spend: $1,638,405

Lincoln Motor Company: Summer Is a State of Mind

Impressions: 187,101,075 

Interruption Rate: 3.11% 

Attention Index: 97 

Est. TV Spend: $1,349,252

Chevrolet: Video Game

Impressions: 176,855,281 

Interruption Rate: 2.74% 

Attention Index: 97 

Est. TV Spend: $1,659,277

Ford: Make It Revolutionary

Impressions: 141,500,618 

Interruption Rate: 2.32% 

Attention Index: 97 

Est. TV Spend: $1,631,795

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

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.