Thanks to broad activation around the Olympic coverage, Toyota spots dominate iSpot.tv‘s ranking of the most watched car TV ads from July 29 to August 4.
Toyota’s most successful commercial, “Almost Lost You,” tells the story of Olympic BMX rider Alise Willoughby and her husband and coach Sam, who went from tragedy to triumph. The true story was well received by audiences: According to iSpot’s creative assessment25% of viewers thought the message was the “very best” thing about the ad, while “heartfelt” and “inspiring” were two of the most common emotions/reactions.
Toyota celebrates other Olympic athletes in its other ads on the list. The fourth-place ad features Nikola Karabatić demonstrating his skilled handball skills using everyday objects, while the fifth-place ad features Gabby Thomas (athletics), weightlifter David Liti and long-distance runner Gladys Tejeda with the tagline “We believe that no journey is made alone.” This ad scored higher than the automotive industry average for likeability: 24% of viewers thought the message was the “very best” thing about the ad, while 13% found the characters compelling.
The remaining two ads in the ranking promote summer sales events from Hyundai and Volkswagen.
In second place is Hyundai’s “Summer: Add More Joy.” Over 30% of the 141.5 million total national TV ad impressions came from primetime ads. Across all times of day, ABC was the network with the most impressions (16% of total impressions), due in part to: The BacheloretteThis spot had a brand match of 83% (the percentage of survey respondents who remembered it was a Hyundai ad after watching it), above the current automotive industry average of 77%.
Volkswagen’s No. 3 commercial, which highlights available deals on the 24-model Atlas and Atlas Cross Sport, exceeded the automotive industry average in several factors, including clarity and information. Over 17% of the commercial’s 140.1 million national TV impressions came from MSNBC, while CNN contributed another 11%.
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1. Toyota: Olympic Games: I almost lost you
Impressions: 166,221,501
Interruption rate: 3.50%
Attention index: 101
Estimated national television advertising spending: $2,197,685
2. Hyundai: Summer: Bring more joy
Impressions: 141,532,677
Interruption rate: 3.32%
Attention index: 94
Estimated national television advertising spending: $798,106
3. Volkswagen: Hot Dog
Impressions: 140,082,378
Interruption rate: 3.99%
Attention index: 101
Estimated national television advertising spending: $971,607
4. Toyota: 2024 Summer Olympics: Start your impossible
Impressions: 137,552,366
Interruption rate: 1.86%
Attention index: 141
Estimated national television advertising spending: $1,631,853
5. Toyota: Olympia: Farewell
Impressions: 126,085,000
Interruption rate: 2.76%
Attention index: 107
Estimated national television advertising spending: $1,374,813
Data provided by iSpot.tvthe new standard for measuring TV advertising
TV impressions – Total number of TV advertising impressions delivered for the brand or spot.
Interruption rate – The percentage of devices that were present at the start of the ad but did not watch the entire ad. Actions that interrupt the ad playback include changing the channel, viewing the program 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 with its specific media placement. The Attention Index is measured on a scale of 0 to 200, with 100 being the average and meaning the ad is performing as expected.
Estimated national TV spending – Amount spent on broadcasting the brand spots on television.
