Audi unveils viral push for launch of new A4

by Emma Rigby, Revolution UK 19-May-05

LONDON - Audi has poured 40% of its £1m marketing budget online to launch its A4 model, including a personalised viral clip.

The clip has been filmed especially for the internet. Audi had previously revealed that it would focus on digital and press for the launch, rather than on TV for the A4 push due to its increasingly fragmented audience. 20:20 is behind the campaign.

The video expands the message that VdT, Vorsprung durch Technik, is the missing chemical element and is sent to a combination of databases in the target audience. The clip opens with the statement: "There are those that refuse to acknowledge the existence of VdT.2."

It unfolds to show a black and white propaganda film based in Japan, where campaigners deny the existence of the element. But a lone scientist discovers the secret and is seen to type in the recipients name into an email.

The user then receives an email into their inbox, from 'Keiko,' before the film finishes. It says: "I had to get this message to you before it is too late. I've seen Vorsprung durch Technik -- VdT -- the secret element inside every Audi."

Tim Garbutt, managing director of 20:20 London, said: "Apart from the ground-breaking personalisation twist and email contact this Audi internet film represents a step-change in online marketing.

"Through digital technology we can create an experience as epic and immersive as a broadcast commercial. And it is fully interactive."

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