The Heart & Mind ad campaign launched by AutoTrader.com in May has worked so well for its own marketing and that of its dealer and private advertisers, that the auto listing site is expanding the campaign. Additional broadcast coverage will include USA Network, ESPN and ABC.

The SportsCenter show on ESPN, and ABC’s Saturday night college football and Monday Night Football will start airing AutoTrader.com commercials very soon. You’ll also see the Heart & Mind spots on Fox NFL Sunday, the post-season playoffs of Major League Baseball, and TNT’s World Series and NBA coverage.

Heart & Mind has routinely ramped up AutoTrader.com unique monthly visitors to more than 15 million, with traffic above corresponding 2009 months.

The campaign was based on two important research findings: Nearly half of car buyers consider both new and used vehicles; and, the recession has taught consumers to look carefully for just the right vehicle. The campaign cleverly communicates how AutoTrader.com vehicle shopping meets their needs and helps them make a wise decision.

“This extension of the Heart & Mind campaign is a result of the success we’ve had already with it, confirming our research on the kinds of messages that would resonate with car shoppers and get them to our site to review auto listings and car shopping content,” AutoTrader.com CMO Clark Wood said, in the announcement. “This campaign has contributed to the record site traffic AutoTrader.com has experienced this year, and we expect this additional media exposure to have additional impact.”