Besides Tampa Bay, this year’s big winner was Cadillac with its Edward-Scissorhands-inspired commercial that led to a 194% traffic bump to its respective branded pages on Cars.com, the digital automotive marketplace reported.
GM also saw triple-digit traffic increases to its EV pages on the marketplace while Jeep came in third place at a 93% lift from car-shopping football fans. Overall, auto brands’ Big Game commercials drove a 38% average increase in Cars.com site page views.
“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 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.
