auto dealer in black and red logo
MenuMENU
SearchSEARCH

Cox Ranks Super Bowl Car Commercials

Data collected by Kelley Blue Book and Dealer.com shows which factories and brands benefited from their significant investments in Super Bowl airtime.

by Tariq Kamal
February 6, 2018
Cox Ranks Super Bowl Car Commercials

 

2 min to read


Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler starred in “Feel Something Again,” a Super Bowl ad that generated significant website traffic for the Kia Stinger. Photo courtesy Kia Motors via YouTube

ATLANTA — For auto manufacturers, the cost of a ticket to the Super Bowl continues to rise: Sports Illustrated reports that NBC charged advertisers a cool $5 million to air a 30-second spot during this year’s contest. But car commercials — which are typically 60 seconds long — remain a cornerstone of the big game.

This year’s Super Bowl featured 11 car and truck commercials from six marques. There were six vehicle-specific spots highlighted by “Feel Something Again,” a Kia Stinger ad featuring Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler, and “Jeep Jurassic,” a Wrangler-themed flashback to the original “Jurassic Park.” The remaining five commercials were strictly branding efforts, including “Built to Serve,” Ram’s ill-advised Martin Luther King Jr.-themed spot.

The NFL delivered for all its advertisers with a Super Bowl for the ages. The underdog Philadelphia Eagles prevailed in a shootout, defeating the dynastic New England Patriots by a score of 41-33. The game came down to the final play, ensuring viewers remained glued to their screens for the duration of the four-plus-hour broadcast.

Analysts with Kelley Blue Book charted pageview volume in the hour after each Super Bowl car commercial aired, with Toyota claiming the top two spots:

  1. Toyota / ”Mobility Anthem”

  2. Toyota / ”Good Odds”

  3. Kia Stinger / “Feel Something Again”

  4. Jeep Wrangler / “Jeep Jurassic”

  5. Jeep Wrangler / “Anti-manifesto”

  6. Hyundai / “Hope Detector”

  7. Ram / “Icelandic Vikings/We Will Rock You”

  8. Ram / “Dr. MLK Jr./Built to Serve”

  9. Toyota Tundra / “One Team”

  10. Jeep Cherokee / “The Road”

  11. Lexus LS / “Long Live the King”

As has historically been the case, vehicle-specific ads drove the biggest spikes in new-car pageviews within an hour of broadcast. In fact, only one branding spot, Ram’s Viking-themed commercial, resulted in an appreciable post-airtime spike compared with the hour before it aired:

  1. Lexus LS / “Long Live the King” (2,500%)

  2. Kia Stinger / “Feel Something Again” (1,963%)

  3. Jeep Wrangler / “Jeep Jurassic” (424%)

  4. Jeep Wrangler / “Anti-manifesto” (198%)

  5. Toyota Tundra / “One Team” (85%)

  6. Jeep Cherokee / “The Road” (31%)

  7. Ram / “Icelandic Vikings/We Will Rock You” (26%)

Kia’s Stinger ad propelled it to the top of Kelley Blue Book's total brand pageviews after airing, with Ram bringing up the rear:

  1. Kia

  2. Toyota

  3. Jeep

  4. Lexus

  5. Hyundai

  6. Ram

Ram did, however, make the list of brands that enjoyed an overall lift in the hour after the game compared with the hour before the game. Hyundai and Toyota did not:

  1. Kia (186%)

  2. Jeep (63%)

  3. Lexus (12%)

  4. Ram (6%)

Finally, Dealer.com analysts found that dealer websites enjoyed significant increases in total visits (157%), vehicle detail pageviews (147%) and “quality” visits (160%); the company judges a quality visit on the basis of a proprietary scoring system.

Originally posted on F&I and Showroom

More Dealer Ops

Auto Dealer Today, Dealer Debrief, 07/15/2026, with Lauren Lawrence
Dealer Opsby Lauren LawrenceJuly 15, 2026

Dealer Debrief: Defection Data & EV Updates

In this week's debrief, host Lauren Lawrence discusses how to use defection data to your advantage and the latest on EV sales and charging infrastructure.

Read More →
Two professionals shake hands while exchanging a car key fob beside a vehicle, symbolizing a vehicle sale, lease agreement, or dealership transaction.
SponsoredJuly 8, 2026

How Defection Data is Bridging the Dealership Conversion Gap

Lead volume is flat, cross-shopping is up and brand loyalty is in retreat. As confident sales teams keep losing buyers they thought they had, daily industry sales data is showing dealers exactly where their funnel is breaking and how to fix it without buying a single new lead.

Read More →
Auto Dealer Today, Dealer Debrief, 07/02/2026 with Lauren Lawrence
Dealer Opsby Lauren LawrenceJuly 2, 2026

Dealer Debrief: Where are you losing customers?

In this week's debrief, host Lauren Lawrence discusses the hidden leaks in dealerships where you might be losing customers without even realizing it.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Auto Dealer Today, Dealer Debrief, 06/25/2026, with Lauren Lawrence
Dealer Opsby Lauren LawrenceJune 26, 2026

Dealer Debrief: Improving Your Inventory Management

In this week's debrief, host Lauren Lawrence covers a new survey that shows what service technicians really want and two launches that could help improve your inventory and vehicle life cycle management.

Read More →
group of people standing in a circle holding puzzle pieces together
Dealer OpsJune 1, 2026

Ladies and Gentlemen, This Is a Dealership: Why the Fundamentals Still Decide Who Wins

A teaching moment by a legendary football coach happens to apply perfectly in the auto retail space. Learn what it is and how to use it to your store’s advantage.

Read More →
Cover image for a BOK Financial report titled “Timing the market: How avoiding volatility entirely can hurt long-term reinsurance program performance.” The image shows several road construction barricades with flashing amber warning lights lined up in a nighttime work zone. Beneath the image, red text explains that avoiding volatility can mean falling behind inflation and missing market rebounds that drive long-term surplus growth. The BOK Financial logo appears at the bottom right.
SponsoredMay 8, 2026

What Market Timing Mistakes Mean for Your Reinsurance Program

When volatility hits, dealer-owned reinsurance programs face a familiar temptation: pull back and wait for calmer waters. New data from BOK Financial shows why that instinct can quietly cost you years of surplus growth.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
two cars on a billboard, No Hidden Fees
ComplianceMay 1, 2026

Dealer Ads and the FTC

The agency has made it clear in recent enforcement actions and warnings, in auto retail and other industries, that advertised prices must include all nonoptional costs to the consumer.

Read More →
Closeup of white car's headlight, front end
Dealer Opsby Hannah MitchellApril 17, 2026

Used Autos Supply Dwindles

The March shopping surge, despite high prices, cut into inventory by the most since the thick of the pandemic, Cox Automotive analysts calculated.

Read More →
hands making protective frame over red car, Risk Reality Check, Be Proactive, Auto Dealer Today logo
Dealer OpsApril 1, 2026

Managing Risk Effectively Through Changing Times

The variables influencing risk pricing have changed significantly over the past five years. Being proactive and responsive to emerging trends is not optional but essential.

Read More →
Ad Loading...
Car key, stacks of coins, and a paper car cutout with AutoPayPlus logo, representing auto financing, loan terms, and vehicle affordability trends.
Dealer Opsby StaffMarch 31, 2026

Survey Reveals What Won't Fix What's Breaking Car Sales

AutoPayPlus says extra-long auto loans are trapping consumers and threatening the dealer trade-in cycle, and that the industry is leveraging the wrong tools to combat high MSRPs.

Read More →