In this week’s edition of the Variety Movie Commercial Tracker, powered by the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company iSpot.tv, Universal Pictures claims the top spot in spending with “Dolittle.”
Ads placed for the fantasy-adventure film had an estimated media value of $8.22 million through Sunday for 1,092 national ad airings on 40 networks. (Spend figures are based on estimates generated from Jan. 6-12. Estimates may be updated after the chart is posted as new information becomes available.) Universal prioritized spend across networks including CBS, Fox and NBC, and during programming such as NFL Football, SpongeBob SquarePants and NBA Basketball.
Just behind “Dolittle” in second place: Columbia Pictures’ “Bad Boys for Life,” which saw 924 national ad airings across 36 networks, with an estimated media value of $6.77 million.
TV ad placements for Paramount Pictures’ “Like a Boss” (EMV: $5.18 million), Warner Bros.’ “Just Mercy” ($4.25 million) and Universal’s “1917” ($3.36 million) round out the chart.
Notably, “Like a Boss” has the best iSpot Attention Index (127) in the ranking, getting 27% fewer interruptions than the average movie ad (interruptions include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).
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Top Movie Commercials by Weekly TV Spend
$8.22M – Dolittle
Impressions: 397,480,656
Attention Score: 90.62
Attention Index: 67
National Airings: 1,092
Networks: 40
Most Spend On: CBS, FOX
Creative Versions: 28
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $27.33M
Studio: Universal Pictures
Started Airing: 10/13/19
$6.77M – Bad Boys for Life
Impressions: 397,181,471
Attention Score: 93.56
Attention Index: 97
National Airings: 924
Networks: 36
Most Spend On: CBS, FOX
Creative Versions: 28
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $15.7M
Studio: Columbia Pictures
Started Airing: 09/05/19
$5.18M – Like a Boss
Impressions: 406,596,467
Attention Score: 95.40
Attention Index: 127
National Airings: 1,414
Networks: 31
Most Spend On: NBC, ABC
Creative Versions: 43
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $17.76M
Studio: Paramount Pictures
Started Airing: 10/14/19
$4.25M – Just Mercy
Impressions: 369,184,789
Attention Score: 93.79
Attention Index: 101
National Airings: 760
Networks: 40
Most Spend On: NBC, ABC
Creative Versions: 88
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $21.38M
Studio: Warner Bros.
Started Airing: 09/04/19
$3.36M – 1917
Impressions: 300,938,368
Attention Score: 92.64
Attention Index: 85
National Airings: 660
Networks: 33
Most Spend On: NBC, CBS
Creative Versions: 58
Est. Lifetime TV Spend: $35.06M
Studio: Universal Pictures
Started Airing: 10/26/19
1 Movie titles with a minimum spend of $100,000 for airings detected between 01/06/2020 and 01/12/2020.
* TV Impressions – Total TV ad impressions delivered for the brand or spot.
* Attention Score – Measures the propensity of consumers to interrupt an ad play on TV. The higher the score, the more complete views. Actions that interrupt an ad play include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV.
* Attention Index – Represents the Attention of a specific creative or program placement vs the average in its respective industry. The average is represented by a score of 100, and the total index range is from 0 through 200. For example, an attention index of 125 means that there are 25% fewer interrupted ad plays compared to the average.
Variety has partnered with iSpot.tv the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company, to bring you this weekly look at what studios are spending to market their movies on TV. Learn more about the iSpot.tv platform and methodology.