{"id":13161,"date":"2022-04-07T19:42:54","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T19:42:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/?p=13161"},"modified":"2024-04-23T14:21:19","modified_gmt":"2024-04-23T18:21:19","slug":"most-viewed-video-ads-march-madness-2022","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/illumin.com\/insights\/most-viewed-video-ads-march-madness-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Most Viewed Video Ads: March Madness 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Kansas Jayhawks overcame a tremendous 15-point halftime deficit against the North Carolina Tar Heels to secure their fourth national championship victory this Monday, April 4th <\/span>\u2060\u2014but which advertisers were also able to claim March Madness victory in 2022? Brands like Pizza Hut and Buffalo Wild Wings zeroed in on their target audience<\/a> by emulating on-the-couch conversations, while others like Buick and Aflac chose to champion important social issues. Here are some of the most viewed connected television (CTV) ads<\/a> for this year’s March Madness.<\/span><\/p>\n

A victory for ad sales too\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

CBS and Turner recently announced that the ad units for the 2022 March Madness tournament were sold at nearly a <\/span>double-digit price increase<\/span><\/a> compared to last year, beating previous sales records. They also sold \u201cvirtually\u201d all the ad inventory for the event, indicating a growing interest in the tournament for advertisers in the wake of lifting restrictions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone knew that the tournament would be back in 2022 with its original format for the first time since 2019, so advertisers were trying to buy in as early as possible,\u201d explained an agency exec in a recent article as one possible reason for the success of ad sales. (Source: <\/span>TVNewsCheck<\/span><\/a>)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Return to normalcy or a new era for sports advertising?\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

The 2022 men\u2019s tournament delivered the best coverage in five years (Source: <\/span>Saturday Tradition<\/span><\/a>), gaining 12% more viewers through round 2 than in 2021. That\u2019s good news for advertisers, but does it signal a shift away from one-time sporting events like the <\/span>Super Bowl<\/span><\/a> in favour of reaching audiences consistently on a game-to-game basis? Or is this simply a return to form for NCAA basketball? Only time will tell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What we can do in the meantime is look at which advertisers came out on top with our list of the Most Viewed Video Ads for March Madness in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most Viewed Video Ads: <\/b>March Madness\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Rank<\/b><\/td>\nBrand<\/b><\/td>\nCampaign<\/b><\/td>\nRelease date<\/b><\/td>\nTotal views<\/b><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/span><\/td>\nInvesco<\/span><\/td>\nAisha: Optical Tracking Technology<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nMar 11, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n10,553,969<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/span><\/td>\nCorona<\/span><\/td>\nSmall Talk<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nMar 10, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n3,210,069<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/span><\/td>\nAflac<\/span><\/td>\nThat\u2019s Real Talk: CareGrants Contest<\/span><\/td>\nMar 1, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n2,021,197<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/span><\/td>\nBuick<\/span><\/td>\nSee Her Greatness<\/a><\/span><\/td>\nMar 8, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n1,021,743<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/span><\/td>\nPizza Hut<\/span><\/td>\nNo One OutPizzas the Hut<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nMar 14, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n686,658<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/span><\/td>\nBuffalo Wild Wings<\/span><\/td>\nPrivate School<\/span><\/td>\nMar 12, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n268,312<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/span><\/td>\nAT&T<\/span><\/td>\nLily + Coach K\u00a0<\/span><\/td>\nMar 18, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n208,066<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/span><\/td>\nCapital One<\/span><\/td>\n#RewardingMadness<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nMar 13, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n195,111<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/span><\/td>\nNissan<\/span><\/td>\nFast and Steady<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nMar 14, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n122,083<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/span><\/td>\nGEICO<\/span><\/td>\nSelection Sunday<\/span><\/a><\/td>\nMar 14, 2022<\/span><\/td>\n70,243<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

*Data collected by AcuityAds\u2019 True Reach\u2122 insights platform from March 13th – April 4th, 2022<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Key Insights<\/b><\/h2>\n

Off the cuff, informal dialogue\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n

Many of the ads in our list featured conversational dialogue designed to emulate the conversations happening on couches and barstools across America as March Madness games were being played. The sixth-place ad by Buffalo Wild Wings is a prime example of this, though Corona\u2019s <\/span>Small Talk<\/span><\/a> also deserves mention for humorously side-stepping the issue of its name.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n