As the editor of a web site devoted to all things car-related, an e-mail with the subject heading, "THE AUDI R8: ‘THE SLOWEST CAR WE’VE EVER BUILT!’" will certainly catch you off guard. After all, the car goes 0-100 km/h in 4.6 seconds.
Sending out press releases is not an easy job, because journalists see so many of them that we often read only one or two lines before sending the note to the trash. Audi certainly got our attention at WCF.
In a new ad campaign for the United Kingdom market, the German automaker decided to focus on the meticulous task of building the Audi R8 instead of concentrating on the car's performance credentials. Using a process which called for 20 different cameras to be utilized for every frame of video, the television spot is scheduled to premiere in the U.K. tonight at 1855hrs on Sky Sports One, during the England vs. Russia Euro 2008 football qualifier. You can also watch the video now on this page.
Audi UK will spend more than £6 million (€8.6 million) on the unusual campaign for this £77,000 (€110,500) goliath. What makes the ad so unusual from a marketing standpoint is that it pays no mind to the car's specifications, abilities, or exclusivity - three of the most important qualities to supercar buyers.
One premiere car club forming in the U.K., Continental, uses the slogan "Performance & Prestige". For Audi to avoid advertising about these attributes is uncommon, but may be very effective.
In the release, Audi UK Head of Marketing Peter Duffy said that the R8, "symbolises progressive design, our pursuit of perfection and unrivalled handling built from our motorsport history."
"We had to tell the story of how the car is built."
Source: Audi
Press Release (Click to expand)
THE AUDI R8: ‘THE SLOWEST CAR WE’VE EVER BUILT!’
New multi-million pound campaign for the new R8 highlights its painstaking ‘hand-intensive’ build process
- First airing currently scheduled for 17 October at 1855hrs during the England vs Russia football match on Sky Sports One*
Audi UK is investing more than £6 million to support its R8 high-performance sports car with one of the most ironic claims in the history of advertising: "the slowest car we’ve ever built". The new campaign featuring the sought-after all-aluminium, quattro four-wheel-driven, V8-powered two-seater breaks this week, and represents the largest investment ever made by Audi UK in the launch of a new car.
The R8 is, of course, anything but slow off the mark: it is the fastest production car Audi has ever produced, but because each one is constructed with painstaking precision, largely by hand, it actually has the by far the slowest build process of all Audi models. Only 450 cars will be delivered in the UK this year, and 750 in 2008, with prices starting at £77,000.
“The R8 is the epitome of Vorsprung durch Technik – it embodies everything it stands for – advancement through technology," explains Peter Duffy, Audi UK’s Head of Marketing. "It also symbolises progressive design, our pursuit of perfection and unrivalled handling built from our motorsport history. We had to tell the story of how the car is built."
That story will be told in a 90-second commercial developed by creative duo Richard McGrann and Andy Clough of Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH), Audi’s long-standing creative partner and the agency responsible for encapsulating its values in the UK through the ‘Vorsprung durch Technik’ catchphrase. It uses a filming technique developed by director Olivier Gondry, and observes a group of real Audi mechanics over a number of days as they construct the vehicle from the very first bolt to the finished car.
“We wanted to make a film which made the process of constructing an R8 as beautiful as the car itself,” explains Richard McGrann. The effect captures the workers’ movement through time – each frame measures a point in time compressed into one shot. Filming took place over eight days in Germany, with each frame requiring a minimum of 20 different shots and four layers to achieve the unique visual effect.
The soundtrack for the commercial is provided by critically acclaimed folk singer Simone White, whose pure vocals and haunting melodies have had both critics and listeners spellbound. The beautiful track, ‘The Beep Beep’, is taken from Simone’s new album – ‘I am the Man.’
The multi-channel campaign breaks on 17 October at 1855hrs during the England vs Russia football match on Sky Sports One*. From 16 November, the commercial will also be aired in cinemas across the UK around quality films such as American Gangster – the latest offering from Ridley Scott starring Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington. Around this time a ‘making of’ programme will also be broadcast on the Audi Channel on Sky 884, and the R8 will begin making two-day appearances on the concourses of major UK stations to give travellers a glimpse of the finished article.
ENDS
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