IRVINE, Calif. — Kelley Blue Book, a provider of new-car and used-car information, today reported a huge surge in new-car Web traffic for the all-new Chrysler 200 during Sunday’s highly anticipated Super Bowl XLV matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers. 

In addition, kbb.com saw a significant lift in new-car traffic for the Volkswagen New Beetle, Hyundai Elantra and Volkswagen Passat following the airing of their respective new-vehicle ads on Sunday.

All automakers who advertised during the Big Game on Sunday saw a lift in shopper activity on kbb.com following the airing of their ads, with Chrysler leading the pack with a 213 percent increase to the brand’s traffic on kbb.com. Following Chrysler, the brands that saw the most increased shopper activity on kbb.com included MINI (154 percent), BMW (136 percent), Hyundai (135 percent) and Audi (131 percent).

“Car shoppers and enthusiasts are clearly taking time away from the ads featuring monkeys, dogs and talking babies to visit objective third-party websites like Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com to obtain pricing, reviews and information on all the cars advertised during Sunday’s game, ” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director and executive market analyst for Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com. “Kbb.com traffic is a leading indicator of new-car shopper behavior, so the buzz we’re seeing from consumers in the middle of the game certainly demonstrated shoppers’ interest and likely predicts future sales.”

In addition, many of the specific models advertised on Sunday experienced a major surge from interested shoppers on Kelley Blue Book’s kbb.com both during and after the Big Game. Chrysler’s two-minute ‘Imported from Detroit’ spot for the Chrysler 200, featuring popular musician Eminem, garnered the most attention, with a whopping 1,013 percent increase in traffic for the Chrysler 200. The buzz-building ad for the redesigned Volkswagen New Beetle created a 293 percent surge in traffic for that model on kbb.com, and the highly anticipated Hyundai Elantra’s ad drove a 270 percent increase for that vehicle on kbb.com.  Volkswagen’s lauded ‘The Force’ ad for the all-new Passat was a fan favorite and also generated a 229 percent increase in traffic for that model on kbb.com.

New-Car Models Seeing Most Increased Web Traffic on kbb.com Following their Brands’ Respective Super Bowl XLV Ads

In the days leading up to the Big Game, a kbb.com homepage quick poll asked car shoppers which automakers’ ads they were most interested in seeing on Sunday.  Chevrolet was the leading brand in that poll, with 30 percent of car shoppers saying they were most anticipating Chevy’s ads. On Sunday and the day following the Big Game, a kbb.com homepage quick poll asked car shoppers which automaker had the best commercial(s) during the game. Volkswagen was the clear winner among shoppers once they viewed the ads, with 30 percent saying they liked Volkswagen’s commercials the best. Following Volkswagen was Chrysler at 20 percent.

“The results from the kbb.com traffic and quick poll data following Sunday’s game shows that with the right creative execution and the product to back it up, automakers can succeed in capturing new-car shoppers’ attention when making big-budget ad buys,” said Nerad. “The Green Bay Packers aren’t the only winners coming out of the great Midwest this year; Chrysler stole the show in terms of model-specific buzz from its all-new ‘Imported from Detroit’ ad for the 200. In addition, Volkswagen’s ‘The Force’ ad, featuring a young Darth Vader wannabe and the all-new Passat, seemed to be this year’s voted favorite among the car ads on Super Sunday.”

To see more about the car commercials from the Big Game, visit http://www.kbb.com/car-news/all-the-latest/2011-big-game-car-commercials.