Audi puts Mercedes S-Class "To Bed" in new A8 TV ad

[KillerHERTZ]

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Press Release

Audi Debuts Super Bowl Companion Ad During the NFL Playoffs

- In Audi‘s ongoing campaign to redefine luxury, the 60-second spot claims "Luxury Has Progressed"
- Spot follows the storyline of the acclaimed children's book Goodnight Moon
- The all-new 2011 A8 sedan will be the featured vehicle in both the companion and Super Bowl advertisements



HERNDON, Va., Jan 13, 2011 - Audi today announced a new 60-second TV advertisement billed as a prelude to its upcoming Super Bowl ad. An evolution of Audi's ongoing campaign to redefine luxury, the companion spot taps into viewers' notions of old luxury with the help of an unlikely literary inspiration: Goodnight Moon, the 1947 children's book by Margaret Wise Brown, one of the best-selling children's books of all time.

The TV commercial titled "Goodnight" is inspired by the cadence and rhyme scheme of the original Goodnight Moon while taking the viewer on a journey through a traditional-style mansion laden with trite symbols of old, stuffy luxury. The 60-second spot methodically says goodnight to the age of old luxury, defined by gluttony and excess, and features the all-new 2011 Audi A8 flagship sedan, the most technologically-advanced vehicle the company has ever produced and the apex of Audi's new luxury lineup.

The highly-acclaimed 2011 A8 will also be featured in Audi‘s upcoming Super Bowl TV spot, set to air in the first break after kick off on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 6, 2011.

What a load of old tosh, if anything the facelift W221 with an AMG bodykit looks better than the A8 (big A4) could ever do, yet it is at the very end of its life...!

 

[wemorgan]

When the camera pans away from the S-class and shows the garish Audi grill, Audi PR execs must surely have a sense of humour.
.

 

[renault12ts]

The A8 has a real problem.

Whereas a quick glance at an S Class is all that is needed to identify it, the A8 takes a second, a third, even a fourth to distinguish it from the A6, or should that be the A4?

 

[gunning]

I hate the new A8 anyway, couldnt touch the S clas IMO and in the opinion of car magazines

 

[matty.13]

the fact audi even has to try and compare to mercedes says it all really . mercedes has allways been known as a luxuery brand . the whole advert just makes audi look stupied

 

[lancebond]

and yet this is for americans... who will believe anything they watch.

so i can see a surge in sales coming for audi.

lets face it, those who know will buy an s class, those who don't, won't.

 

[Littledigger]

Its a stupid advert. It makes me want to go to a merc dealer to take a closer look at that S class it brushed by so quickly.

 

[timskemp]

Audi must be worried if they feel they have to negatively advertise the A8 against the S class.

That's something that will backfire.

As I've said for a while about Audis, they're about style over substance. Nothing wrong with them but we don't want rising B&O speakers and huge LED DRLs and huge shouty gaping mouth grilles. We just want a reliable, proper handling, safe, quiet, refined car.

Oh, and rear wheel drive please.

 

[Deleted member 37751]

Out of all the Mercedes that Audi choose to pick a fight with, they go for the one that is unequivocally head and shoulders above it's direct competitors...

 

[Blackman]

That W221 looked gorgeous with AMG alloys

The new A8 looks rubbish compared to the new S Class and the grill is becoming seriously stupid.

WTF are those headlights? Were the Audi designers drunk and high when they came up with the idea of LEDs across the headlights? It looks nice on the R8, but they follow the edge of the headlight, not going through the middle.

The A8s up to 2009 looked stylish with the classy Audi image at the same time, but literally all new Audi models, not just A8, are shouting: LOOK AT ME! It spoils everything and makes them look cheap.

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Interesting that America gets "Truth in engineering" where as we get "Vorsprung durch technik" (Progress through Technology).

Perhaps it was too foreign for the USA


Next model is on its way:

 

[renault12ts]

The new aggressive look from Audi...is it meant to intimidate?

 

[grober]

This reminds me a bit of the Marks and Spencer TV advert " this isn't just -----etc etc " so I just added the final line to the Soundtrack:-

------- Goodnight bygones everywhere---------- Good morning elimination, Good morning innovation-------------HELLO TOW TRUCK!

 

[gIzzE]

Audi do tend to make themselves look like dicks at times with their ad campaigns, this is a good example....

A rather clever punchline......

That was only ever going to end in tears.....

 

[gIzzE]

I love the way Audi very quickly skips over the exterior and moves onto the interior, which to be fair is very nice, but that exterior is not something you would want to catch in a window as you drove passed!

Audi is getting very, very blingy, which is the main reason I used to buy them, they were understated to the point no one even looked at what you were in. Now what's left??

 

[Deleted member 37751]

I love that road sign on the Audi picture- 'do not enter' 'wrong way'

 

[st4]

e90 m3 or FWD shopping trolley, hard choice.

MB S class is a peerless car, the Jag XJ is the next best in that segment. The A8 was described as cramped. Not good for a luxury car.

Tim hits the spot though, rear wheel drive.

 

[tagnut]

Agree with everything posted above. Audi's are getting more and more shouty and I've gone off the look entirely. My last car (which I did like the look of) was a 2006 Audi A4 Avant. Interior cabin was excellent but the harsh ride and hard seats really let it down. Fine for occasional fun on a twisty country road but not a comfortable place to be for every day driving and particularly on a long journey. We drove to the south of France in it and it was back breaking!.

I realise the E class is a step up and more comparable to the A6 but my 2003 W211 is a huge improvement in almost every area and I wouldn't even consider going back to Audi now.

 

[230KOMPRESSOR]

I did not realise it was April the 1st already?

 

[DITTRICH]

Let's face it the a8 is just plain ugly.
Mercedes styling has always been more adventurous and elegant.
It is the combination of bonnet lines, grille, emblem and headlights, especially the w210, w211, w203 and certain other models. It may not have been cheap to produce but it looked very tasteful. Mercedes has slipped slightly in this respect recently.
The a8 however suffers from being designed by blind people who live in caves and use computer screens with broken backlights and brightness controls. Either that or they are on someone else's payroll as well! The headlights are hideous... and as for that large grille...it doesn't belong on anything with 4 wheels let alone a flagship motor. Okay I lied - it would look good on a tractor.
My impression has been that audi's are bought by the sorts of people who cannot bear to be associated with their perceptions the bmw or mercedes 'image' and how those cars are treated on the road by other drivers. Of course this is a huge generalisation and everyone has their own opinion.
So, there is an aesthetic price to pay for choosing audi and it is very very large.