Audi's Competitive Advertising Jabs BMW, Stings Toyota

Posted by Barry Silverstein on February 24, 2010 05:05 PM

When a brand goes directly after its competition in an ad, there's always a price to pay. A poorly executed competitive ad makes the advertiser look boorish; a well-executed one puts the competitor on the defensive.

Audi's latest jab at BMW appears to be the latter: The ad is classy and humorous, yet gets the point across. It depicts winning and losing moments (for example, a father who beats his son in a toy car race) with the voice-over: "In every friendly little competition, there's a winner... and a loser." Audi closes with the fact that it beat BMW in three straight Car and Driver comparisons.

But it's another Audi ad – this one of a man with a runaway electric lawn mower – that is being scrutinized for what appears to be a low blow against Toyota.

It's not so much the ad itself as the title, "Toyota Lawnmower Recall," that is creating the controversy. At the end of the video is a website address, ElectricityUntamed.com, pointing to an Audi site that promotes its electric concept car, the E-Tron.

Audi's explanation: The company is indeed responsible for the ad, but a representative says it was released in September. That was BEFORE the Toyota recall for acceleration problems. The representative claims some unknown party added the title referring to Toyota later. Now, of course, the video is a viral sensation.

The Audi representative said the ad "was designed to show the advantages of electronic engines over gas-powered ones," according to BrandFreak. Still, does an out-of-control lawn mower effectively convey that message? Or is the connection with Toyota’s current crisis simply too strong to ignore or deny?

All brands know that when it comes to marketing and advertising, timing can mean the difference between brilliant success and abject failure. Audi has a decision to make.

More about: Automotive, Audi, Toyota, E-Tron, BMW

mark says:

I think it's a very clever opportunistic ad placed at a time when car companies would be wanting to steal customers from the largest car manufacturer in the world. This type of competitive advertising is ideal for the circumstances. The thing with this ad is that it is credible due to all the media coverage of the Toyota debacle, building further on Toyota's problems.

The pressure is really mounting on Toyota

February 25, 2010 04:16 AM #

Rikki says:

Audi had a similar problem with runaway cars back in the late 70's or 80's - check 60 Minutes stories for those decades. There were deaths. So perhaps this ad is disingenuous to say the least.

February 25, 2010 11:32 AM #

Adam says:

No more boorish than our Congress...they look far more selfish and opportunistic than Audi ever will.

Audi will take this attention to the bank. They just needed their car in the add stopping when the guy was dragged across the street.

February 25, 2010 11:38 AM #

Kirt says:

Regarding Rikki's comment, Audi and Toyota are not quite in the same situation. Audi faced allegations of run-away acceleration in 1985, when Christy Brodowsky, the wife of a minister, drove over her son in their home's driveway while he was opening the garage door for her. There was a media frenzy. During the 60 Minutes news reel by Ed Bradly, their mechanics drilled a hole in the transmission of an Audi 5000 and pumped compressed air into it to it (without telling the audience) to show how the cars COULD possibly leap forward (this was before the age of having to put your foot on the brake in order to put a car in drive). No mechanical failures were ever found by Audi or any government agency. The result of all testing was "pedal misapplication by the driver". Also, the "runaway Audis" were limited to the US, where the media frenzy took place. Audi had no accusations in the 80+ other countries where their cars were sold....you will find that Toyota has a global problem. In the mean time Audi invented many safety features used by all manufacturers today such as shift lock (putting your foot on the brake to release the gear shifter), height-staggering between gas and brake pedals, and anchors for floor mats to prevent unintended acceleration. Audi was seriously damaged but completely admonished of any problems with their cars. Toyota's have been proven faulty and yet the company has been ignoring this issue for years. At least 25 deaths are tied to the problem.
As for this matter, considering that Audi released this ad prior to the Toyota debacle, it is my opinion that Audi actually released this New Age Film piece not as an ad against Toyota, but as a parody of their new electric concept car, which goes from 0-60 in about 5.5 seconds. The YouTube title mentioning Toyota was not claimed by Audi and could have been added by anyone. I think if Audi doesn't want to take the fall for this, they had better make a public statement quickly.

February 27, 2010 01:18 PM #

Thank you Kurt for checking my reference to the 1985 Audi issue and filling in the details. It shows the importance of consumer and media follow-up when a product or brand under goes this kind of intense scrutiny. Maybe it was because of my youth at the time but the story made a big impression on me and I don't recall much coverage about dispelling the 60-Minutes story or clearing up the details. Obviously Audi recovered but it took some time. I am a big fan of German auto engineering, quality and styling - I think they make best cars.

February 27, 2010 04:58 PM #

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