STUD or DUD: Is Audi's Holiday Season Advertisement A Wasted Opportunity OR Genius?

If there is any car company that has made a big splash in the automotive industry in the past couple of years, it has to be Audi. Not only because its sales figures continue to break records but because it has been a trendsetter when it comes to automotive design.

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Before Audi revealed the R8 with those uber cool LEDs, no one ever thought of using the high-tech lighting to accentuate their cars. Now a luxury car is defined by its LED treatment. BMW, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and plenty of others have incorporated LEDs into their designs. We don't think it's a coincidence.

This led Audi to produce a commercial spot for the holiday season, which focuses on the LEDs and makes jest about competitive Christmas light installations. All in all, it appears to be a light-hearted advertisement; however, the founder of ScheinMedia, Jonathan A. Schein, took it from a different perspective...


What does this commercial show us? First, that no matter what the impact of burning extra fossil fuels to illuminate one's house, it's worth competing for highest voltage. Secondly, instead of demonstrating how their automobiles perform with respect to our delicate climate, Audi boasts, through rank commercialism, about how wonderful not one, but two Audis can be...

...This automaker wasted a great marketing opportunity to show how neighbors can compete over reducing greenhouse gases while at the same time enjoying their newest purchase. Instead they relied on outdated and outmoded tactics.

[Source: The Huffington Post]


And with that said, onto the advertisement...