Friday, February 25, 2011

Audi's New Strategy

After a long blog post hiatus I have returned to the world of the living...well to the living world of the blogosphere. A few other writing projects pulled me away and leeched what little free time I had from my little journal here. Those projects are not yet completed but I would be remiss if I did not have at least one ad commentary post related to the better Super Bowl Ads for this year--even though it is kinda late.

Standing in a bar for the entire duration of a football came can be kinda tiring for some, but not for true fans of a "Super Bowl Experience" lots of drinks and food everywhere, Packers and Steelers fans alike griping and cheering in unison. Football season's grand finally was punctuated with a few really impressive commercials this year. As I'm sure you can tell from the title, it was Audi for the win, at least in my book.

In case you haven't seen it, here's the commercial:



Pretty funny right? Humor is one of the best ways to deliver a message and get people to remember it. But just what was Audi's message?
"This isn't your Father's luxury"

This message is communicated in 3 ways 
(1) the cast 
(2) the action 
(3) the dialog

The Cast
Kept in these amazing prison cells are the vestiges of Old Luxury, opulent rugs, decadent crystal, gaudy chairs and old people. I mean the true to life stereotype of what most of us consider the "Rich Old Bugger"--heavily wrinkled with white hair, just like Ebenezer Scrooge. The people we characterize as heartless, out of touch, and impractical stand behind gilded bars as 2 of the prisoners try escaping--one of whom is "The New 50" (handsome, grey haired and on the move). He's the one Audi wants us to identify with, mature--not old, smart, stylish and full of passion for life. Much like the way they want you to see their cars.

The Action
Escaping from this prison doesn't seem to be all that difficult (hint, hint). But the duo do have to break through a window. The dapper escapee is pretty agile going through the window while the typical bugger has to bumble though the opening. Its not just for comedic relief, the cat like reflexes and smooth style of the dapper escapee hearken right back to the main message "Your father couldn't/wouldn't but you can/will". It makes our subconscious believe that we are better than our parents somehow and so, we would want a better car, one just as action oriented as we are.

The Dialog
When the pair finally get outside, the typical bugger chooses the Mercedes because "his father had one." The dapper escapee chooses the Audi. How does he know it's a trap? Again he's smart. He knows that the typical bugger would be fooled into thinking that luxury only existed only in the backseat of a Benz. Oh but not Mr. Dapper, he knows what Audi wants us all to know after watching this commercial--luxury is a choice. The Audi driver chooses to drive himself, he has no driver, he doesn't need to depend on anyone. He makes his own decision based on style and preference, not on legacy.

For such a simple 1minute spot, Audi managed to embed an image in its viewers that will start to chip away at the crag of established luxury. Instead of attacking quality, styling, efficiency or some other typical aspect of determining car supremacy, they picked a stance that aligned them with one of the most famous high class car companies in the world and said simply "Luxury is your choice, choose wisely"