(February 7, 2013) CHICAGO — During Sunday'sSuper Bowl game, automakers accounted for nearly 20 percent of all commercials. Cars.com listened to online chatter to make the call: Which auto advertiser drove away as MVP of social media? In addition to tracking social buzz, Cars.com also looked at which auto ads prompted car shoppers to search for more information on the site.

"Over the years, automakers have flocked to the big game to show off their newest models and entertain viewers," said Patrick Olsen, Cars.com's editor-in-chief. "We examined which auto-related commercials in the big game not only created buzz, but also drove the greatest activity on our site, by looking at searches for each manufacturer on Cars.com."

Hyundai, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota all saw the largest growth in search on Cars.com as a result of their Big Game ads. Social media mentions were dominated by Audi, Ram and Volkswagen. However, overall, Audi showed the best balance between social buzz and search.

There were 10 auto brand advertisers, 13 total minutes of automotive ad time and 47% of auto related ads were released before the game. Additionally, according to Cars.com data, the first quarter of the game drove the most social buzz, and there were a total of 273,062 Big Game mentions on social media. Auto companies represented 19% of Big Game national advertisers with 13 minutes of ad time. Despite a blackout that spurred more than 200,000 social media posts, the buzz still belonged to brands.