Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Marketing/Advertising, Audi
Audi Super Bowl ad puts "Old Luxury" on notice
by Alex Nunez on Feb 3rd 2008 at 8:04AM 
Click image to see the Audi Super Bowl ad preview.
Audi has posted a sneak preview of its Super Bowl spot. Fans of The Godfather will love it, and anyone even remotely aware of The Godfather's memorable scenes will get it. Whether it helps persuade luxury car buyers that the interlocking rings constitute an offer they can't refuse will be determined on future sales charts. If nothing else, however, we know that Audi certainly brought its "A" game to Super Bowl Sunday...and that Johnny Fontane will get that movie.
Watch the preview here.
[Source: Audi via German Car Blog]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Carlos 8:18AM (2/03/2008)
That was pretty funny, loved the engine note of the R8 at the end.
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inCore 8:28AM (2/03/2008)
That is genius. The engine note truly is magnificent.
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Black Shark 8:44AM (2/03/2008)
Well, while i do like just about everything Audi's done lately i can't think that this just was too overhyped to actually be any good.
All while the "introduction" i was thinking....they're not going to put some car bits in his bed are they ? and they do me one worse, they put a precisely cut front end....that's not funny, not even that creative, it's just lazy
Don't get me wrong, it's not a particularly bad commercial, it's sends the message pretty ok, but it's defenetly not memorable or clever
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AntonLitvin 9:07AM (2/03/2008)
Remember "The God Father", can't understand the point in that light.
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AntonLitvin 9:11AM (2/03/2008)
Neither Audi, nor Bently is italian what is the point?
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AntonLitvin 9:14AM (2/03/2008)
And both brands are Volkswagen Group O_o !
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J.Crew 9:49AM (2/03/2008)
That is a well done spot... I love the R8 and that is pretty funny how they pulled off a Godfather momment.
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Sid 10:10AM (2/03/2008)
Awesome commercial!! The last part in which the R8 gets away is going to turn heads!! Gotta love the engine note and showed how beautiful the R8 is!
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DKB_SATX 10:34AM (2/03/2008)
But shouldn't they have used an Audi LUXURY car instead of sportscar? Maybe an S8? Yeah, I'm nitpicking... the average American TV viewer won't think "That's not luxurious, that's sporty!" but then again the average American viewer would buy an H2 before an R8.
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Hamud 10:37AM (2/03/2008)
Great, just great.
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Derek 10:51AM (2/03/2008)
Preview won't load for me, just get a link to a cheesy screensaver.
Still not especially taken with the R8 though. Audi "family" styling looks great on coupes and sedans, but a halo car like the R8 needs something that stands out more. There are a few angles that make the car look really good but overall it just doesn't stand out from the crowd.
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tekdemon 11:07AM (2/03/2008)
lol, pretty funny actually. But umm...yeah, is that a Bentley front end? As in...a fellow VW division's front end?
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Elliott 11:23AM (2/03/2008)
I'm so infatuated with the R8 that commercial really could have been about anything and I would say I love it.
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zamafir 12:07PM (2/03/2008)
Most likely because Audi didn't want to get into another pissing contest ala that ad between them and BMW what Subaru also jumped in on.
I love the R8 but this commercial didn't do very much for me. Perhaps if Audi had extolled several key reasons why Old Luxury was being put on notice, IE the new A4 with all the standard kit it's going to have while reducing weight and improving space, etc.
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garlinski 12:08PM (2/03/2008)
Love the movie. Love the spot.
It's true that Audi is really more luxurious than ever! I jsut went to the new World of Audi in Hartford, CT yesterday and on the floor of the place they had an RS4 (used), an S5 in red and a sick S8 glimmering in the lights. It was just amazing. They are really on to something and it's more exciting than BMW and Mercedes. I could have drooled all day long. Someday.
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John 12:33PM (2/03/2008)
I give Audi props. They have the right products and now maybe the right advertising to give BMW and Mercedes a run for their money. They may actually become more relevant in the U.S. market.
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Jason 12:51PM (2/03/2008)
Fantastic ad. Simple but brilliant. I also agree an S8 or RS6 would have been a better choice, but the R8 works because this is about the brand, not a particular model.
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Richard 1:07PM (2/03/2008)
Got to love the R8.
Got to love the play on the Italian supercars.
The R8 will be of greater use to il Cosa Nostra, however, when it get's that cement-mixer diesel in it.
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musicmike702 1:18PM (2/03/2008)
I love that ad...also love how Alex Rocco was in it. Although he played a different role in "The Godfather" it was inspired casting.
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Sandeep 1:34PM (2/03/2008)
*this* is what a superbowl ad should be!
those R8s sound magnificent...only thing better than the one in the ad was the one I was next to on the street.
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