Toyota, Volkswagen and General Motors saw huge spikes in shopping and search interest after their Super Bowl ads aired this year, according to Cox Automotive.
The group said the high-profile spots resulted in shopping spikes above 50% for several Toyota brands, and 445% increase for Volkswagen’s ID.4 electric car. Similarly, Toyota saw RAV4 search traffic jump 77%, while the RAV4 Hybrid and Plug-In Hybrid generated lifts of 50% and 200%, respectively. Volkswagen’s ID.Buzz saw a game-time lift of 1200% in research activity, according to Cox.
The companies aired the commercials during the National Football League’s Super Bowl LX, which aired before a television audience that was expected to be as large as 127.7 million viewers, according to Sporting News.
The automakers each took different approaches in their ads, with Toyota and Volkswagen calling back to 1990s nostalgia, while GM unveiled a new livery for one of its Cadillac F1 formula race cars. GM also aired a new Chevrolet commercial during the Super Bowl pregame show that references a 1950s-era song that memorializes the brand.
Toyota ran two 30-second commercials during the Super Bowl that the company said in a press release would bring “Toyota’s long-standing human-centric storytelling to life, spotlighting moments, relationships and dreams that shape who we become along the way.”
The first ad, dubbed “Superhero Belt,” explored the connection “between a doting grandfather and grandson, and how their relationship only grows stronger with time,” Toyota said. The ad depicted the grandfather in a 1997 Toyota RAV4 taking a ride with his young grandson, who later recreates the moment for his grandfather in a 2026 RAV4.
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The second Toyota ad, dubbed “Where Dreams Began,” featured Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Puka Nacua, U.S. Paralympian Oksana Masters and NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace. Toyota said “the spot rewinds the clock to a time before trophies and the glory, when every champion was just a kid with a dream.”
Volkswagen ran a 30-second ad that was dubbed “The Great Invitation: Drivers wanted” in the second half of the Super Bowl.
The brand said in a press release that the ad was an update of a 1995 Super Bowl commercial it aired called “Drivers Wanted.” The company says the slogan “has long stood for Volkswagen’s human-centric approach to design, performance, and culture.”
Volkswagen’s new ad was set to a classic early 1990s hip-hop song, and the company said it offered “a forward-looking invitation, calling on a new generation to say yes to possibility, originality, and optimism by living life in the driver’s seat.” The ad also featured an invitation for viewers to text or visit a website where they would be invited to enter a raffle for a chance to win a 2026 Volkswagen Golf GTI.
The automaker released a 90-second version of the ad online.
GM unveiled the livery of the first Cadillac Formula 1 Team car in a TV commercial that also aired during the Super Bowl.
The 30-second spot revealed the vehicle during the broadcast from LX at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The car is due to make its race debut at the 2026 Australian Grand Prix. 
Additionally, during pregame coverage, Chevrolet aired a new commercial that GM says is a “modern interpretation” of the brand’s ad “See the U.S.A. in Your Chevrolet,” sung by the late legendary entertainer and television host Dinah Shore.
A 30-second commercial during Super Bowl 60 costs about $8 million, but some companies have paid over $10 million for their spot. That’s up from $4.5 million for a 30-second ad during Super Bowl 50 in 2016 and $37,500 for a commercial during Super Bowl 1 in 1967.
The total cost tends to vary depending on when the commercial time was purchased.
Cox Automotive said, “The automotive ads from Sunday’s Super Bowl show that when people see a car they want or want to know more about, they take direct action online.” But the group said automakers needed to think about “where does it go from here?”  
“This is where OEMs and dealers need to make sure that great advertising pays off by delivering a personalized experience either fully online, in the showroom or a hybrid of the two,” Cox said.  
USA TODAY NFL Trending Reporter Nick Brinkerhoff contributed to this report.

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