Audi of America, Inc. today announced a new multimedia advertising campaign, the company’s first all-new campaign since 2002. The U.S. campaign will feature print, online and broadcast elements and includes two 0.2-second-long embedded commercials.
The campaign will focus on several Audi models, including the all new TT, A4 sedan, the Audi Q7 SUV and A6 sedan. Though creative execution varies within the campaign, the theme that unites each ad is the company’s new U.S. tagline – “Truth in Engineering.” It represents the notion that Audi’s superior design, history and engineering provide the most authentic, truthful driving experience in the luxury segment.
“Today’s consumers are principally concerned with honesty, authenticity and substance in the products and brands with which they engage,” said Scott Keogh, Chief Marketing Officer, Audi of America. “Audi’s rich automotive history uniquely positions us to deliver on these requirements. This new campaign’s focus on Truth in Engineering is our way of demonstrating that ability to the marketplace.”
At the end of 2006, the luxury auto maker hired San Francisco-based Venables Bell & Partners as the new creative agency of record and Denver-based Factory Design Labs as the new interactive agency of record. The two agencies were tasked with developing a new brand campaign that popularizes the Audi name and drives awareness of the expanding product line in the United States. Venables Bell & Partners was responsible for the broadcast and print elements, and Factory Design Labs developed the online elements, including the TT consumer Web site.
The Truth in Engineering campaign will kick off with traditional print, broadcast and on-line components, and it also features a host of non-traditional elements, with more to come this year. The first spots will be two TT ‘teaser’ broadcast TV ads that launch on May 7. These spots will be among the first in the industry to capitalize on widely proliferating DVR technology. When watched live, these ads will appear to have a 0.2 second flash of subliminal imagery embedded – basically a blink of an eye. However, consumers who take the time to rewind and advance the ads frame-by-frame will be rewarded by a full commercial. These executions emphasize the new Audi TT’s industry-leading S-tronic shift-speed. Starting May 7, consumers also can view and replay these ads on the web at www.TT-Truth.com. The teaser ads will be followed by a full 30-second TT launch ad the following week.
“Audi customers are among the most highly-educated and technologically adept in the world,” said Keogh. “The campaign targets the types of consumers that choose to interact with specific media. From a newspaper at the breakfast table to the opportunities provided by DVR technology and the power of the online community, this campaign will bring the globally-accepted idea of Audi as the premium automotive luxury brand directly to the forefront of popular American consciousness.”
The new campaign comes on the heels of record growth for Audi of America in 2006 and the first quarter of 2007. Under the leadership of Executive Vice President Johan de Nysschen, and with exceptional sales of the A4 sedan and positive response to the new Audi Q7, the company posted an 8.5-percent increase in year-over-year sales in 2006. The company’s 2007 sales are up 15.2 percent through April. By 2011, the luxury automaker will invest $15 billion to expand its product portfolio. The advertising campaign is the next step in Audi’s emergence as a leading force in the American luxury automotive market.
“For the discerning luxury consumer, we believe that our product line is among the best in the world, and the exceptional American response to everything from the A4 to the R8 has proven that,” said de Nysschen. “The new Audi brand campaign is our commitment to giving our extraordinary product offerings a voice of equal stature.”