Audi’s Sane Approach to Luxury Electric Vehicles
Audi is emerging as the upholder of good sense in a luxury electric vehicle market that’s seen some wild brand and product design recently. Understated but clever and effective, its latest billboard advertising is a shining example of how simple design details can speak louder than fashion statements.
A More Sensible Approach
While the Jaguar Type 00 stuns Paris Fashion Week and the Tesla Cybertruck descends into farce with sales pitches live from the White House, Audi’s being all sensible and German by talking about the actual design of its vehicles. And it’s doing it with great style.
A Clever Billboard Campaign
The campaign, created by BBH London, is a deconstructing the Audi A6 E-tron into bite-size selling points. There are both traditional and video billboards highlighting the car’s range, its fast-charging capabilities, its technology, and, in the piece above, the Audi A6 Sportback E-tron’s aerodynamic performance.
A Simple but Effective Design
The campaign starts with a folding guide for a paper airplane (top image), with the Audi A6 Sportback E-tron sliced across the page. Once put together, the airplane reveals the whole car. This idea came from Simon Finn and Matthew Chong, a pair of junior creatives on BBH’s eight-month creative incubator course, Barn. It just shows how great ideas can emerge when talent is given the freedom to experiment.
A Sequential Media Strategy
The campaign was precisely engineered through a sequential media strategy, managed by PHD. Billboards in high-dwell time locations were strategically planned so commuters would encounter the flat lay version of the paper airplane first, sparking curiosity before the fully constructed plane appears in subsequent placements.
A Focus on Real Sales Points
Each billboard is the essence of simple but effective advertising: a single message clearly communicated in an unexpected and memorable way. It also perfectly (and quietly) expresses Audi’s traditional brand focus on luxury alongside innovation, precision, and progressive design, capturing attention without a need for dramatics.
Uche Ezugwu’s Perspective
"It’s not just another car ad," says Uche Ezugwu, Creative Director at BBH. "It breaks the mold of what a launch should be, showcasing innovation and performance in the most refined, effortless way. For this to come from one of our Barn teams, is the cherry on the cake."
Conclusion
In a market where Jaguar and Tesla are trying to make a splash with their designs, Audi is focusing on what really matters: the design of the cars themselves. With its latest campaign, Audi is showcasing its commitment to innovation, precision, and progressive design, while also highlighting the real sales points of its vehicles.
FAQs
Q: What is the purpose of Audi’s latest billboard campaign?
A: The campaign is designed to showcase the features and benefits of the Audi A6 E-tron and A6 Sportback E-tron.
Q: Who created the campaign?
A: The campaign was created by BBH London.
Q: What is the key message of the campaign?
A: The key message is that Audi’s electric vehicles are designed with innovation, precision, and progressive design in mind, and that they offer real benefits to customers.
Q: What is the main difference between Audi’s campaign and those of Jaguar and Tesla?
A: Audi’s campaign focuses on the design of its vehicles, while Jaguar and Tesla are focusing on more dramatic and attention-grabbing approaches.
