Volkswagen’s ‘An American Love Story’ Ad Zooms Ahead With 394% Surge in Traffic on Cars.com During the Big Game

CHICAGO (Feb. 12, 2024) — Automakers that bet big on prime-time advertising were among the winners of last night’s nail-biting Big Game with significant spikes in consumer traffic to their pages on car-shopping marketplace Cars.comⓇ (NYSE: CARS). Kia, Toyota, Volkswagen and BMW made waves with prime-time commercials highlighting electric vehicles and pickup trucks — but Volkswagen won the competition with a sizable 394% spike in traffic on Cars.com following the airing of its ad, “An American Love Story.”

Even though Volkswagen’s ad saw the biggest spike in traffic on Cars.com, each brand that debuted a product during the game saw a triple-digit bump in traffic on the marketplace. 

“The biggest sports event of the year is a huge opportunity for brands to capture the attention — and spur action — from an engaged viewing audience. At Cars.com, the results are tangible,” said Jennifer Vianello, Cars.com’s chief marketing officer. “We’ve regularly seen automakers receive double-, even triple-digit traffic bumps on Cars.com after their ad airs during the game — and this year was no different. Consumers are looking for a trusted and unbiased destination to shop and research what they saw during the game, and Cars.com offers that.”

While each automaker that aired an ad saw traffic increases to its overall brand pages on Cars.com, the specific vehicle models featured in each commercial also saw large spikes in traffic, showing consumers were sprinting to Cars.com to learn more about those rides:

• Kia’s all-new EV9, an electric three-row SUV, saw a 2,497% boost in traffic after its ad aired. Cars.com recently reviewed the EV9, and with high praise.

• Used Volkswagen Microbuses and Beetles, which were prominently highlighted during Volkswagen’s evolutionary ad, saw a 4,020% and 1,307% lift in traffic, respectively, after airing. The ID. Buzz is coming to dealer lots in 2024, and it will be interesting to see if it makes an appearance in next year’s Big Game.

• Toyota’s New Tacoma pickup truck, the focus of Toyota’s ad, received a 1,223% increase in traffic after airing.

• BMW’s New 5 Series cars saw a 1,008% lift in traffic after the humorous, celebrity-driven ad hit screens. While the i5 Series is still new to the marketplace, it also saw a bump in traffic.

Methodology

Cars.com analyzed site traffic patterns for advertised car model pages during the eight minutes before each spot aired and again eight minutes after. 

For more reviews, car-buying advice and tips, visit Cars.com/News.

Cars.com internal data

ABOUT CARS.COMⓇ

Cars.com is the No. 1 most recognized automotive marketplace visited by nearly 30 million in-market consumers each month. Launched in 1998 and headquartered in Chicago, Cars.com empowers consumers with data, content and digital tools driven by AI technology to make informed car buying and selling decisions and seamlessly connect with thousands of local dealerships nationwide. Cars.com is the flagship offering from Cars.com Inc. (d/b/a Cars Commerce), an audience-driven technology company empowering automotive that simplifies everything about buying and selling cars. Learn more at www.carscommerce.inc. 

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