Audi Superbowl Commercial Analysis free essay sample

The advertisement depicts Audi’s flagship supercar in a scene that clearly recalls the famous â€Å"horse head† scene from the popular movie The Godfather. The Audi commercial from Super Bowl XLII is an effective way of drawing attention to Audi products and the R8 supercar in particular. Because the R8 is the only product pictured in the ad, it is clear Audi is trying to draw attention to this new product in particular. I will take an in depth look into the advertisement to determine whether or not this was an effective advertising campaign and define the target audience of the advertisement. The Audi R8 advertisement is an effective advertising campaign that captures the attention of Audi’s target audience while conveying widely held societal values of our time. The Audi R8 Super Bowl commercial is an effective advertisement to the target audience to which Audi is trying to appeal to. We will write a custom essay sample on Audi Superbowl Commercial Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In the advertisement, the scene opens in the back yard of a mansion. We then see a bedroom with a man in bed asleep. The man awakens and seems startled and somewhat confused. He discovers that he has oil on his hands and body then he peels back the bed sheets. When the bed sheets have been removed from the bed he discovers the grille of his Rolls Royce at his feet. He the lets out four loud screams then the R8 supercar is pictured in front of the mansion. The car’s engine starts, revs, and then the car takes off and speeds down the driveway. This is an effective advertising campaign that the audience Audi was reaching out to will enjoy and understand. Because the intended audience is mostly males in the baby boomer generation, that demographic group will relate to, and enjoy, the advertisement. That is due, in part, to the fact that the audience of The Godfather was a mostly male group. Because the R8 supercar is aimed at an older male audience, the scene from the movie is an effective way to target that age group. In the scene, actor Alex Rocco plays Moe Greene. Greene was a main character in The Godfather and was loosely based on the real-life gangster Bugsy Siegel. In the advertisement, we see Greene wake up to discover the front grille of his Rolls Royce in his bed and he is covered in oil. This recalls the famous horse head† scene from The Godfather in which Hollywood producer Jack Woltz wakes to find his prized horse’s head, Khartoum, in the bed at his feet. This ad appeals to many that are in the baby boomer generation because that age group connects with the theme of the commercial and understands the scenario due to the fact that The Godfather was one of the more prominent and historical movies of that generation. In addition, Audi uses this theme to c onnect with that generation because in large part, that is the age group that has the ability to spend $125,000 on a supercar. Because those in the baby boomer generation have been working for many years and many hold positions as professionals, they have the ability to spend money on luxury items such as supercars, whereas younger individuals in their twenties and thirties have not been working for many years and do not have the ability at their young age to spend large amounts of money on luxury items. The target audience of the commercial is males in the mid-forties all the way through the mid-sixties. That does not mean, however, that this advertisement campaign will not appeal to those outside of this spectrum. There are many fans of the movie, The Godfather around the world. This advertisement would certainly appeal to those who enjoy the movie even if they are not in the baby boomer generation. This commercial would effectively market Audi’s product to those people as well. In addition, there are individuals that may be enamored with Audi’s products in general. This ad campaign would also appeal to that group of people, which would probably be a mostly male audience, because males tend to be more interested in automobiles and fast cars than females. There is also a group of young individuals that have the means to go and spend this type of money on an automobile. This advertisement would appeal to that crowd because it showcases the cars’, in my opinion, masculine, powerful, and sporty looks which also give insight into the performance-oriented roots of the car. Also the car can be an â€Å"image booster. † In today’s society many think of cars as a status symbol and see the car one drives as a window into the owner’s personality. Many people today associate what a person drives with how successful they are and what type of person they are. This is in some cases not a good way of judging a person because many people leave beyond their means or find ways to obtain material possessions they cannot actually afford. When the audience hears the car start and speed down the driveway of the mansion, one would assume that this is a performance-oriented car. This would be of interest to those on the younger end of the audience’s spectrum because they are more interested in what the car represents and what it brings to them. These two elements are shown at the end of the commercial when the car is parked in front of the mansion. The car then starts, revs its engine, and speeds down the driveway towards the entrance to the mansion. This would certainly make any car fan excited about the product that is being offered in the commercial due solely to the fact that the car sounds aggressive and fast when its engine starts and it speeds down the driveway. This commercial could also appeal to a female audience, whether it’s females who relate to the movie theme or females who are into cars and enjoy luxury items such as this car. The only words in the advertisement appear on the screen three quarters of the way through the ad. It states, â€Å"Old luxury just got put on notice†. In my opinion this is effective marketing. By placing the Rolls Royce grille in the bed and making it appear as if it has been killed, Audi is saying there is a new standard in luxury. The Rolls Royce grille is used because Rolls Royce motorcars are know the world over as being the most opulent and luxurious automobiles available for purchase. Also, when individuals see the Rolls Royce grille in the bed, those that recognize what the grille is will immediately think of luxury automobiles. This may not work for some, however, those who do not recognize Rolls Royce or who do not know about cars, but Audi assumes that the target audience of the commercial will. I believe that the individuals with who this connects will be able to make that connection almost immediately. This ad campaign by Audi is effective for several reasons. First it is marketing the product to those that are really interested in luxury items such as the Audi R8. Second, it uses the theme from The Godfather to connect with that target audience of baby boomers. Because the buyers of the car are going to be in that range for the most part, Audi made a smart decision when they decided to use that theme to appeal to the target audience. If they had used something that was more current or perhaps something related to pop culture, the advertisement campaign would not have been as effective due to the fact that it would not capture the attention of those who are actually interested in these types of offerings from companies.