Nintendo ads generate 9 out of 10 TV impressions in March-April

Nintendo continues to be a powerhouse for the video game industry when it comes to TV advertising. From March 16 through April 15, Nintendo accounted for 90% of the industry’s total impressions. During that period, nine brands aired 36 spots over 4,900 times, generating 613.6 million TV ad impressions — and 24 of those 36 spots came from Nintendo.

GamesBeat has partnered with iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company, to bring you a monthly report on TV advertising by the gaming industry. These are the ads, and by extension the games, that game marketers have been putting major muscle behind.

Below are the top five most-seen gaming industry TV advertisers from March 16 through April 15.

Nintendo’s “My Way: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury” was the most-seen video game spot for the period measured.

Nintendo aired 24 spots over 4,400 times, generating 553.6 million TV ad impressions. Its most-seen commercial was “My Way: Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury,” with 87.6 million impressions. According to an iSpot Ace Metrix survey, this spot performed above average across all industries for aspects including watchability, desire, and likeability. Viewers considered it “wholesome” and “nostalgic,” and 31% cited the product itself as the single best thing about the ad. Networks generating high impression-counts for Nintendo included Nick, Cartoon Network, and Disney Channel, while top shows included SpongeBob SquarePants, The Amazing World of Gumball, and The Loud House.

PlayStation takes second place with 46.5 million TV ad impressions delivered by four spots that ran 341 times. With 30.1 million impressions, “Explorers” was once again its most-seen spot. ESPN, Adult Swim, and Cartoon Network were three of the top networks, while SportsCenter, SportsCenter With Scott Van Pelt, and Rick and Morty were a few of the top impression-generating programs.

Third place goes to MLB Advanced Media (MLBAM) Video Games, which aired a single spot, “Play Your Way,” 56 times, resulting in nearly 8 million TV ad impressions. Top networks by impressions included MLB Network, Fox Sports 1, and ESPN2, while top programming included MLB games, MLB Tonight, and Greatest Games: MLB.

At No. 4: Milestone, which aired a single spot for Monster Energy Supercross 4, “Their Names Are Written in History,” 12 times, resulting in more than 829,000 TV ad impressions. This commercial aired solely during motorcycle racing on NBC and NBC Sports.

THQ Games rounds out the rankings, having aired one spot, “AMA Pro Motocross Championship Tracks,” twice during Dew Tour — History of the Halfpipe on NBC, netting over 752,000 TV ad impressions.