Super Bowl Car Commercials: Effective or Just Entertaining?

Posted on Feb 13, 2012 | Comments (0)

Plenty of people watch Super Bowl car commercials. But do those viewers go on to buy cars? Enprecis decided to find out.

Advertisers spend millions of dollars for seconds of screentime at the Super Bowl. Car commercials are particularly noted for their over-the-top special effects and creativity, and 2012 didn't disappoint on that front. The Chevy Sonic bungee jumped, while the Chevy Silverado survived the end of the world. Volkswagen brought back Darth Vader, and Fiat blurred the line between human and machine. But how much did any of this actually affect car sales?

It's too soon to tell the sales impact, but Enprecis conducted a survey to evaluate the ads' effect on consumer perceptions. We surveyed nearly 1200 mobile device users during the Super Bowl and for two days after, asking about their interaction with Super Bowl ads, favorite ads, and how the ads affected their opinion of car brands. Here's what we found:

• - 74% "liked" or "loved" the ads
• - Volkswagen was the most commonly remembered commercial
• - 38% watched or discussed ads prior to the Super Bowl
• - 45% discussed ads or interacted with advertised brands after the Super Bowl
• - Super Bowl ads created an 18% increase in engagement
• - 69% reported ads did not change their opinion of the brands

While consumers self-report that ads have little effect on their opinion of brands, they also report taking action in response to ads. This suggests that ads may not have a direct impact on sales, but are critical in building the brand awareness and interest that set the stage for a sale later on. We'll be continuing to explore issues of brand awareness and vehicle marketing with additional studies, so stay tuned.

For the full results of the study, download our Super Bowl Advertising Effectiveness Study (PDF).