Automakers Tout Holiday Sales Events in Latest Most-Seen TV Ads

Black Friday and other sales events were highlighted in each of the five most-seen automaker TV ads for Nov. 25 through Dec. 1, according to an iSpot.tv analysis. Sports, and football in particular, were a key driver of reach for four of those commercials.

With 217.7 million national TV ad impressions, Jeep takes first place with a spot promoting special deals available during its Black Friday sales event. Over 57% of its total impressions came from the NFL, while college football games delivered another 23%. The spot’s winter wonderland setting resonated with viewers: 27% of iSpot’s Creative Assessment survey respondents considered the visual scenes the “single best thing” about the ad. 

Football was the name of the game for Ram Trucks’ second-place commercial featuring former NFL defensive end J.J. Watt. NFL games generated nearly 40% of the spot’s total 209 million national TV ad impressions, with another 16% coming from college football. The ad inspired notable positive purchase intent, with 58% of survey respondents saying they were “more” or “much more” likely to purchase after viewing the ad. Additionally, it scored above the automotive norms for attention, likeability, watchability, desire and relevance.

Subaru is sharing the love in its No.3 spot (184.5 million national TV ad impressions), and not just by offering special financing deals during its sales event: For each vehicle purchase, Subaru and its retailers will make a $300 minimum charitable donation through its continuing Share the Love initiative. Subaru skipped sports programming for this spot, and instead found reach in part from morning news and talk programming including Good Morning America (8% of total impressions), Today (6%) and CBS Mornings (4%). This was also the only ad on the ranking that aired during NBC’s broadcast of the 98th Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. 

The holiday lights aren’t the only thing electrified in Honda’s fourth-place ad — it highlights deals on various hybrid and all-electric models during its Happy Honda Days promotion. NFL games generated over 76% of its total 151 million national TV ad impressions, followed by college football (13%) and the NHL (2%). 

Hyundai rounds out the ranking with a spot promoting its Getaway Sales Event that received 129 million national TV ad impressions. Top programming by impressions included college football (21%), Today (5%) and the NBA (5%). According to iSpot’s Creative Assessment, this commercial had an 89% brand match (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Hyundai ad after watching it), above the recent automaker industry norm of 81%.

(Click on blue links for videos) 

1. Jeep: Winter Is No Match

Impressions: 217,660,135     

Interruption Rate: 4.99%

Attention Index: 74

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $9,789,205

2. Ram Trucks: The Calling: Football

Impressions: 209,026,651   

Interruption Rate: 2.47%

Attention Index: 136

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $9,974,049

3. Subaru: Support Local Charities 

Impressions: 184,515,485  

Interruption Rate: 4.44%

Attention Index: 68

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,780,660

4. Honda: Honda of Your Dreams: Electrified

Impressions: 150,979,371     

Interruption Rate: 2.45%

Attention Index: 142

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $7,629,982

5. Hyundai: Nothing Feels as Good

Impressions: 128,959,467   

Interruption Rate: 2.84%

Attention Index: 82

Est. National TV Ad Spend: $1,154,174

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.