• by Tanya Gazdik , March 11, 2025

Automakers spent just slightly more in February on estimated national TV vs. a year ago with year-to-date nearly even with the same period a year ago. 

February 2025 estimated national TV spending was $152 million up 1.0% from $150.5 million a year ago, per iSpot.tv. 

Year-to-date national TV spending tallied $485.1 million, up 0.2% from $484.2 million in the first two months of 2024. 

Household TV Ad Impressions were 17 billion in February were down 13.6% year over year from 19.7 billion. Year-to-date impressions were 36.4 billion, down 11.7% from 41.2 billion for February 2024, per iSpot.tv.

The top five brands by estimated national TV ad spending in  February were Jeep ($38.1 million), Ram Trucks ($20.7 million), Subaru ($11.8 million), Kia ($11.7 million) and Hyundai ($8.7 million). 

Sports-related programming accounted for over 60% of total industry spend in February. Jeep and Ram Trucks outspent other automakers in February by notable margins, due largely to Stellantis being the only automaker that aired ads during Super Bowl LIX. 

Despite skipping the Super Bowl, automakers were still very active advertisers this February while taking advantage of holiday sales opportunities, says Stuart Schwartzapfel, executive vice president,, media partnerships at iSpot.tv. 

“And in this increasingly shifting TV landscape, we’re seeing interesting developments from auto brands, taking new approaches across both streaming and linear ads in an effort to maximize messaging opportunities with prospective buyers,” Schwartzapfel tells Marketing Daily.  

All of the top five automakers invested, to varying extents, in men’s college basketball, and all except Subaru also activated around NBA games. 

Of the top five, Kia leaned into the NBA the most, allocating over 31% of its total February outlay to games, while the NBA captured nearly 23% of Hyundai’s spend for the month. Meanwhile, Subaru was the only automaker that activated around the Puppy Bowl (nearly 18% of its total monthly spend), per iSpot.tv.

The top five brands by share of automaker household TV ad impressions in February were Hyundai (9.95%), Toyota (8.61%), Lexus (8.17%), Nissan (7.23%) and Subaru (6.98%).

The top five brands by share of voice on streaming were Jeep (11.99%), Hyundai (10.57%), Ram Trucks (7.21%), Toyota (6.60%) and Lexus (6.03%).

Hyundai, Toyota and Lexus were among the top five automakers on both streaming and national linear. Meanwhile, Ram Trucks put a great emphasis on streaming over national linear from an ad reach SOV standpoint, ranking No. 15 for linear SOV but third for streaming, according to iSpot.tv.  

The most-seen automaker ads by share of household TV ad impressions in February were Volkswagen: A Life Half-Full (2.93%); Jeep: Official Vehicles of Winter (2.89%); Kia: Elevated By the Dark (2.70%); Audi: The Road is Calling (2.65%); and Hyundai: Lay Low (2.64%).

The top automaker ads by likeability among the top 20 most-seen ads in February 2025 were  Lexus: Baby on Board (+10.6% more likeable than February automotive norm);  Audi: The Road is Calling (+9.6%); Jeep: Official Vehicles of Winter (+6.7%); Lexus: Free (+4.6%); and GMC: Another Choice (+4.3%).

The top automaker ads by positive purchase intent among the top 20 most-seen ads were  Audi: The Road is Calling (62% positive purchase intent); Lexus: Baby on Board (60%); GMC: Another Choice (55%)' Jeep: Official Vehicles of Winter (51%); andGMC: Let It Snow (51%).

Audi’s “The Road Is Calling” was not only the fourth most-seen auto ad in February, it was also among the top five for likeability and positive purchase intent. 

The spot forgoes any type of traditional voiceover or speaking role, instead focusing on the visuals — the fully-electric Q6 e-tron zooming along a winding mountain road — a tactic that seemed to resonate with surveyed viewers, as 32% cited the visual scenes to be the “single best thing” about the ad, according to iSpot.tv.