Big Game Ads: A Hail Mary or a Winning Play for Automakers? 

Did you know that the Big Game pulled in an audience averaging 126 million viewers this year?  With Fox commanding a record ad price of $8 million (and in some cases more) for a 30-second spot, it’s no wonder that the stakes are higher than ever. However, as evident by a shrinking number of participating OEMs, this price point is steep. In a time where automakers are looking for more efficiency, advertising in the Big Game might feel like a Hail Mary.  But is it worth the gamble?   

When automakers advertise in the Big Game, it’s not like convincing a consumer to buy a bag of chips or make an impulse buy. In automotive, we are talking about much higher price points and detailed lifestyle considerations. It cannot be a one-and-done event. Advertisers need to follow up that awareness play to help generate more shoppers for their respective brands.   

Momentum is hard to sustain. Often, we see a burst on GameDay, but sometimes we don’t see meaningful shopping activity impact in the days and weeks that follow. We’ve seen lifts over 10,000% for debut car models, and exponential lift for established car models. The momentary lift can be staggering but short-lived. We’ve seen the most success with model specific ads – compared to brand spots or ads featuring halo vehicles, which are sometimes too expensive for most consumers. 

While the goal and intent of any Big Game ad varies, when the goal is to sell more cars, or sustain brand momentum – Big Game ads should be reinforced where consumers are shopping. Cox Automotive sees 28M+ unique visitors each month across Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book. Automakers who reinforce their Big Game ads on sites like Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book see sustained lift* for the month of and following the Big Game. 

Here’s an example of some of the lift metrics we’ve seen 

• +40% organic lift to Kelly Blue Book VDPs from a client campaign 
• +400% Increase in Research Activity for the Advertised Model on Kelly Blue Book 
• +36% Increase in Shopping Activity for the Advertised Model on Autotrader  
• +397% Lift in total visits for Dealer.com 

So, while the initial impact of a Big Game ad may be impressive, the key to long-term success lies in the follow-up.  By strategically reinforcing those ads on platforms where consumers are actively shopping, automakers can turn that momentary lift into sustained momentum.  The Big Game may be the kickoff, but the real game is in the follow-up.