AUDI IS BREAKING A NEW integrated ad campaign this week--the first since 2002, and the first from its new agency Venables Bell and Partners, which signed on as AOR in January. The company hopes to break the glass ceiling between it and first-tier U.S. luxury brands Lexus, BMW and Mercedes.
With the new tag line, "Truth in Engineering," the campaign also reflects a greater commitment to interactive media for the Auburn Hills, Mich.-based U.S. sales arm of the Volkswagen AG division. The initial push is for the new Audi TT roadster and coupe, a vehicle that also serves as Audi's "halo" for performance and design.
The effort includes two 15-second teaser ads for TT and several 30-second spots, including an ad promoting Audi's safety engineering and product ads for the A4 sedan and the Q7 SUV. The ads for the TT use a thematic device intended to evoke the speed of the car's transmission. One of the teasers shows a black screen with text reading "0.2 seconds is nothing" followed by a lightning-fast flash of content. Then the message, "Or is it? Missed it? Rewind." The other ad has a similar design.
The idea is that to see that content, which is really several seconds of images with text, one has to either go online and see a slower version of the ad or rewind one's DVR. The teasers and ads drive viewers to TT-truth.com...
Audi Breaks Campaign In Attempt To Crack Luxury Brand Market