(February 7, 2017) SANTA MONICA, CA — While a familiar team may have walked off the field as the big winner of Super Bowl LI, all-new vehicles attracted the most attention of car shoppers on Edmunds. Edmunds analysts tracked traffic to brand and model pages on both its desktop and mobile sites during the game to see which automotive ads were most successful in driving immediate shopper interest. Percentage lifts are compared to average Sunday traffic levels on Edmunds.

The ad for the Lexus LC proved most successful on the model side, with traffic up 1,710 percent to its pages on Edmunds during the game. Traffic to the Kia Niro went up 869 percent during the game, and traffic to the Alfa Romeo Giulia was up 802 percent.



On the brand side, Alfa Romeo piqued the most curiosity with traffic up 785 percent during the course of the game. Kia was second at 63 percent, and Mercedes-Benz was third with a nine percent traffic lift.

"Using the Super Bowl to generate awareness for a new brand or product is a tried-and-true advertising tactic, and this year proved it still works," said Jessica Caldwell, executive director of industry analysis for Edmunds.

"If you think about what it takes for someone to look away from an exciting game or halftime show to go online and research something, odds are it's because it's something they've never heard of and they're compelled to find out more. These ads could have been the first time many consumers saw models like the LC or the Niro, and Alfa Romeo is still a very new brand to many in the U.S."

While not all brands and models who advertised saw a lift in traffic when looking at the data cumulatively for the entire game, many did see immediate spikes during the quarter their ad aired. Traffic to the Honda CR-V rose 6 percent when their ad aired in the second quarter of the game, and traffic to Honda overall rose 14 percent.

"It's harder for the volume brands to show large lifts in traffic because they're working off of such a high baseline. Even minor gains are a victory, as those small percentage points represent a high number of shoppers expressing interest," Caldwell explained. "Despite the fact that many marketers are shifting their media spend away from traditional TV, the big game still proves to be an effective way for automakers to grab the attention of car shoppers."