“This year’s Big Game saw 50% less OEM advertisers compared to last year, likely due to overall sports viewership down all season,” said Brooke Skinner Ricketts, chief experience officer of Cars.com. “Some automakers favored more targeted, efficient digital media advertising on Cars.com around the Big Game to better reach the millions of active car shoppers who choose our marketplace as a critical destination to research, read reviews and connect with local dealers. As automotive brands continue to focus on this valuable in-market shopper audience, Cars.com is a leading platform for marketers who prioritize impact and efficiency.”
For those brands that opted for a big ticket TV commercial during the game, some ads sparked more action from car shoppers than others. When Will Ferrell portrayed holding a grudge against Norway for the country’s electric vehicle adoption in GM’s comedic commercial, Cars.com saw a 169% increase in consumers flocking to GM’s EV pages to discover more about the automaker’s EV models. In addition, the commercial triggered a 77% increase in total EV searches on Cars.com during the game and a 41% increase for used Hummers.
Visits to other featured brands’ pages peaked, too:
- 93% – Jeep’s ‘The Middle’ featuring Bruce Springsteen
- 13% – Toyota’s Jessica Long story
- 157% – Ford Mach-E, aired in select local markets
Cars.com analyzed site traffic patterns to advertised car model pages during the eight minutes before each spot aired and again eight minutes after.