The Road to Auto Advertising Success
At System1, our Test Your Ad Premium database features over 125,000 ads, giving us incredible insight into what effectiveness looks like in your category. In the US market, auto advertising averages 2.4-Stars on our brand-building Star Rating scale, out of a possible 5.9-Stars. This is just ahead of the 2.3-Star average for all US ads.
UK car ads manage slightly better with a 2.6-Star average, but both represent modest brand-building potential. Additionally, in both markets, about 20% of viewers can’t correctly identify the brand – auto ads are a sea of sameness.
The current state of auto advertising leaves plenty of room for brands to rev up the entertainment value of their marketing. Doing so can help the more distinctive, engaging and memorable brands race ahead of competitors.
A Super-sized Approach on Advertising’s Biggest Night
Every year, brands turn up at the Super Bowl to make an impression on viewers – ideally a lasting one! Though Super Bowl LIX was lighter on auto advertising, past years have been packed with ads featuring the latest car models, all competing for consumers’ attention. Do these high-budget spots drive brand building forward or crash under the weight of heightened pressure?
Our Premium database reveals that auto ads that air during the Super Bowl typically outperform the industry average. Check out the stats:
We know that the most effective advertising inspires an emotional response from viewers. Who can forget Volkswagen’s Darth Vader spot during the Super Bowl in 2011? Big Game car ads are great examples of how to make witty, memorable and effective work.
But they tend to be viewed as a deviation from typical car ads. Rather than save the biggest creative ideas for advertising’s top-watched event, auto manufacturers must adopt a Super Bowl approach year-round. After all, a car is one of the biggest purchases people make (and more than likely, a decision that’s only made every few years, if that). Thus, it’s imperative that marketers help consumers build long-lasting, positive brand associations.
So, what are the insights that can keep the category running like a well-oiled machine? Below, we’ve outlined three best practices to consider that will drive feeling among consumers, which in turn supports long-term brand building.
Throw caution to the wind
Risk-averse mentalities can lead to conservative ads that fail to elicit much feeling in viewers. There’s been significant innovation on the sales end of the pipeline, from digital showrooms and virtual test drives to auto park features and electric models. Boldness and forward thinking need to be incorporated into advertising too, as entertainment is good for brand-building and business growth.
Chevrolet’s “Walter the Cat” story scored 4.9-Stars in System1’s testing and offers the unexpected – a cat that behaves like a dog and outshines the owner’s truck. It’s not something you see every day, especially in car ads, which makes it that much more memorable. Jon Evans, Adam Morgan and Peter Field explore the importance of eliciting surprise in “The Extraordinary Cost of Dull.” The research found that going against audience expectations helps reduce the level of neutrality in advertising. So, don’t just focus on happiness – leave a little room for surprise too!
Another great example is Kia’s ad for the 2022 Super Bowl, “Robo Dog.” It scored a strong 4.8-Stars in our testing by telling an engaging story about a robotic dog chasing after Kia’s electric vehicle. The emotional and nostalgic soundtrack, “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” was the perfect fit for the ad, which created sadness and then expertly resolved those feelings with happiness by the ad’s conclusion.
Ditch rigid category codes
Often, car ads feel quite similar to each another, closely following a standard (and safe) formula. They include top-down shots of mountain and forest roads, close-ups of wheels and interiors, drivers experiencing the ultimate level of comfort and so on. There are so many clichés to choose from that in 2018 Lexus had AI generate a script for an ad, which managed to outscore 70% of the System1 Test Your Ad database.
The Super Bowl once again showcases that steering away from category tropes can deliver great commercial impact. Ram’s 2025 commercial took the classic fairy tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears and turned it on its head. Glen Powell stars in an action-packed story that sees the bears driving Ram Trucks and the actor participating in daring stunts like fighting dragons and chainsaw tree carving. Ram achieved 3.7-Stars, ‘Exceptional’ short-term sales potential and 11% higher than average on brand recognition.
Toyota’s 2021 Winter Olympics spot also deviated from the traditional formula. Rather than putting a car at the center of the action, the brand focused instead on inspirational athlete Jessica Long. The emotionally engaging storytelling positions Toyota for long-term market share growth. The ad successfully elicited positive emotions among consumers and performed well on brand recognition, proving that breaking car ad stereotypes can be effective.
Don’t lean too far into features
With innovation such a big focus for the industry, it’s no surprise that car ads are typically feature-led. Marketers want to highlight capabilities like electric engines, wireless charging, rain-sensing wipers and ventilated seats for cooling both drivers and passengers. While it’s important to spotlight the latest and greatest functionalities, ads that focus too much on features leave little room for storytelling and emotion (the thing that matters most when it comes to long-term commercial potential).
Jeep’s 2020 Super Bowl ad ditches the “voiceover-narrating-features” style. Instead, it sets the ad in the classic movie Groundhog Day, bringing back Bill Murray’s character Phil and the groundhog. Rather than be disappointed that he’s stuck in the same day again and again, Murray takes pleasure waking up each day and going for a ride in his Jeep. The ad achieves a 5.2-Star score and the top spot in System1’s 2020 ranking of Super Bowl ads.
An Uncensored Look at Auto Advertising
Cadillac CMO Melissa Grady and Marianne Malina, president of North America at 72andSunny, sat down with Jon Evans, System1 Chief Customer Officer and host of the Uncensored podcast. In this episode, they discuss how the brand and agency work together to elevate Cadillac’s marketing. Don’t miss the full discussion here.
Create with Confidence
Are you ready to put your next creative idea into fifth gear? System1’s Test Your Ad platform and our team of advertising experts can help you test early-stage concepts, scripts, animatics and more to give you consumer insights before your campaign launches.
And our Test Your Innovation platform enables you to test new auto models, names, features, logos, taglines and more, predicting in-market success so you can launch innovations that consumers will love.
Plus, don’t miss even deeper insights on auto advertising in our category audits.