Eyeing up Asia-Pacific's elite

Audi's brief to Ammirati Puris Lintas Singapore was for a regional campaign that made its ads stand out as unique in the luxury vehicle category. In order to accomplish this, the agency had to throw away the rule book and formulate a strategy that was different from the norm. It had no choice because there were heavyweight competitors such as Mercedes, BMW, Lexus, Jaguar and Volvo and, additionally, the campaign was launched at a time when the Asia-Pacific economy was experiencing its worst downturn in decades. The result were ads showing an eye staring at an Audi A4 to communicate desire and a simulated crumpled environment in a flat space to communicate the feeling of smoothness and peace. The ads were placed in consecutive pages of regional publications and the result was that Audi importers received twice their normal number of sales enquiries. Plus, the A4 was Audi's best-selling car during the campaign period. In addition, Audi moved from eighth place in terms of desirability in 1995 to third position in 1999, according to findings by ACNielsen. The campaign was a success because Ammirati Puris Lintas challenged what was conventional in luxury car advertising. The regional media strategy aimed to create a clear brand position which would pave the way for more tactical local work. The marketing objectives tied in with the media strategy centred on being unpredictable in order to get the attention of Audi's target audience; Asia-Pacific's business elite. * This ongoing National Geographic Showcase series features selected material from winners and other entries in the Best Use of Media category in MEDIA's Agency of the Year Awards 1999.

Sign In

Trouble signing in?

Reset Password: Click here

Contact Customer Support at

Customerservice@campaignasia.com