Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: Dunkin’ wants you to know that you can get a medium iced coffee for $2 from 2 to 6 p.m. Old Navy says, “We’ve locked in regular prices on all jeans.” And Geico calls attention to the fact that it’s a NASCAR premier partner.

“You are seeing now the emergence of competitors, like VideoAmp, or iSpot or 605 that are challenging Nielsen and the space in general with new techniques, with new tools.

Media companies and TV ad leaders have been cautiously exploring a post-Nielsen world, integrating currency alternatives such as VideoAmp, Comscore and iSpot.tv within their deals.

The problem was also noted by a high profile study conducted by GroupM and iSpot.tv that found that about $1 billion worth of CTV ads were being counted with the TV off.

Similarly, recent data from GroupM and iSpot.tv indicated 17% of impressions through CTV devices – like dongles and gaming consoles – were delivered when the TV was shut off.

Whereas native smart TV apps, which make up roughly half of CTV viewing, had virtually no incidence of inflated CTV ad count, noted GroupM and iSpot.

As consumers continue to shift from linear to streaming, understanding what ad experiences they find worthwhile has become more crucial and transparency will be the major issue the industry will need to solve says a research post from leading industry analyst Alan Wolk.

The study by the TVREV co-founder noted that the emergence of the streaming era and a flourishing connected TV (CTV) industry has led to a transformative shift in media and entertainment and gaining insight on understanding has been made more important as ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) viewership in the US surges, with brands needing to establish how to reach these audiences more effectively.

So concludes a new study on ad-supported CTV by industry analyst and TVREV co-founder Alan Wolk, based on interviews with “dozens” of executives at media-buying and ad agencies, brands, ad-tech companies, CTV apps, studios and streaming device manufacturers. Interviewees were promised anonymity to encourage openness.

Spend on Dupixent ads in fact were down $5.1 million from January's spend, while Lilly pumped just short of $10 million extra into its commercials compared, with its biggest ticket ad being "Father-Son," which cost $19.2 million, according to the real-time TV ad trackers at iSpot.tv.

Advertisers may have scrambled to get in on CTV advertising, but news during the second quarter cast doubt on the market. A June report from iSpot and GroupM found that CTV impressions were grossly miscounted, costing advertisers $1 billion on ads that ran while devices were turned off.

For the three months ended July 31, networks have aired 13% more national TV program promos (1.7 million spots) and 10% more impressions (248.8 billion) versus the same period a year ago, according to a MediaPost analysis iSpot.tv data.

The problem was also noted by a high profile study conducted by GroupM and iSpot.tv that found that about $1 billion worth of CTV ads were being counted with the TV off.

As consumers continue to shift from linear to streaming, understanding what ad experiences they find worthwhile has become more crucial and transparency will be the major issue the industry will need to solve says a research post from leading industry analyst Alan Wolk.

The study by the TVREV co-founder noted that the emergence of the streaming era and a flourishing connected TV (CTV) industry has led to a transformative shift in media and entertainment and gaining insight on understanding has been made more important as ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) viewership in the US surges, with brands needing to establish how to reach these audiences more effectively.

In November, CM Group acquired Cheetah Digital — one of the longest standing email marketing firms for an undisclosed amount. CM Group has also acquired Selligent, Sailthru, and CM Commerce.

With Cheetah Digital, CM Group's services have broadened to include tools for marketers to use first-party data. Using a brand's loyalty program data, Cheetah Digital runs email and messaging campaigns. Cheetah Digital also helps brands like Vans set up loyalty programs with campaigns that capture information like a person's email address.

Since the beginning of the year, Dior has spent an estimated $3.4 million on traditional television ads in the U.S., third in spend overall in the fragrance category compared to Chanel ($9.5 million) and Giorgio Armani Fragrances ($4.5 million), according to iSpot.tv, a firm that measures and analyses the value of advertisements.

The commercial has racked up 6.3 billion impressions since debuting in 2020, making it the third most-viewed ad in the home cleaning supplies and fresheners industry, according to measurement company iSpot.

Every weekday we bring you the Ad Age/iSpot Hot Spots, new commercials tracked by iSpot.tv, the always-on TV ad measurement and attribution company. (Scroll down to watch them all.)

A few highlights: Kids talk about their sense of belonging in a Gap Kids spot titled “Everyone belongs.” Subaru serves up another new spot starring members of the canine Barkley family. (Yesterday’s edition of Hot Spots had one too.) And Olympic swimming champion Ryan Murphy talks about the high-tech Fastskin LZR Pure Intent Backstroke Edition swimsuit he teamed up with Speedo to develop.

“They have a tremendous amount of players under contract (around 20% of MLB) and they want to get closer to the game and tell their story,” said MLB CRO Noah Garden, adding that he expects New Balance to start utilizing its new rights at or just before the postseason.

My colleague David Broughton cites iSpot.tv data as showing that $2.51 million of the $11.1 million that New Balance spent across all TV advertising over the last year was dedicated to national MLB programming (compared to 45% for the NBA). The brand spent just $44,000 during baseball telecasts in the 12 months before that (July 2020-July 2021).

Less than a million impressions separate the top two ads on iSpot.tv’s latest list of the most-viewed automotive commercials, but Hyundai squeaks ahead to lead the pack thanks to a strategy that focused on the MLB All-Star Game.

My colleague David Broughton cites iSpot.tv data as showing that $2.51 million of the $11.1 million that New Balance spent across all TV advertising over the last year was dedicated to national MLB programming (compared to 45% for the NBA). The brand spent just $44,000 during baseball telecasts in the 12 months before that (July 2020-July 2021).