When it comes to measuring the success of TV ads, actual viewer attention is key. iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company, has attention analytics that measure both the propensity for viewers to interrupt ad play during a commercial (the iSpot Attention Index), as well as the average percentage of an ad that is played across TV devices (the iSpot Attention Score). 

In honor of back-to-school season and their Q2 earnings calls happening recently, we’re shining a spotlight on Walmart and Target to see just how much viewer attention is being captured by their TV ads. For this report, we examined attention in Q2 as well as just the month of August thus far.

Overall, Walmart had an average Attention Index of 109, meaning its ads received 9% fewer interruptions than the industry average (interruptions include changing the channel, pulling up the guide, fast-forwarding or turning off the TV).

Looking at specific ads, Walmart’s assorted “famous cars” spots promoting grocery pickup generally scored high for Attention Index, and its ad with the best Attention Score was “Up Against The Clock?” (96.58)

For Target, some of its ads with high Attention Indices featured music by Carly Rae Jepsen: “Beat the Heat” (Index of 109, 9% fewer interruptions) and “IRL Summer” (Index of 137, 37% fewer interruptions). “Do More: Delivered to Your Car Door” also scored high, with an Index of 130 (30% fewer interruptions). 

Target’s ad with the best Attention Score was “What We're Loving: In Show: Foil Packet Fajitas” (94.47), a how-to cooking spot in partnership with Food Network. 

August Attention Trends

So far in August, two of Target’s back-to-school-themed ads have high Attention Indices: “For Individualists” (158, 58% fewer interruptions) and “For A-lists and Type-A Lists” (111, 11% fewer interruptions). The company’s ad with the best Attention Score was a Spanish-language spot promoting Target’s official partnership with Major League Soccer: “Patrocinador Oficial del Major League Soccer” (99.23)

For Walmart, “Add More Sizzle to Your Summer” (Index 126, 26% fewer interruptions) and “Triple Rainbow” (Index of 135, 35% fewer interruptions) have been winning viewer attention so far this summer. And notably, its ad with the best Attention Score was, like Target’s, a Spanish-language spot: “Back to School: High Rise Mirror” (95.85). 

Photo by Fancycrave.com from Pexels