Been a while since we’ve had a Car Industry Strikes Back article, so why not do The Double? First up, that most desperate of car brands, Audi. I think they are the car brand we’ve featured most in this series. They’re at it again, this time in Finland. It ends with the money shot, of course. The car in question flying along a road without any traffic. Free as a bird and at extremely high speeds. Everything preceeding the money shot is shots of poor bastards who don’t have an Audi.
Including freezing public transport users at a bus stop (the leggy girl is clearly disenchanted with the guy for not having an Audi) and a man riding a thin-tired bicycle down a frozen road. Regarding the latter…. come on… the Finns know and they’re not complete strangers to the bicycle. Any rural Finn worth their salt wouldn’t ride THAT kind of bicycle in THAT kind of weather. This is the country that has the city of Oulu, for god’s sake. Sure, it’s not manipulation on the scale of BBC’s War on Britain’s Roads, but it’s still bending the truth to serve an agenda.
A reader in Helsinki, Alexander, was kind enough to send us the head’s up about this commercial, as well as to translate the titles: “Talvi tulee taas” = Winter is coming again “Älä taistele vastaan” = “Don’t fight against [it]” “Suomi. quattron koti” = “Finland. [the] quattro’s home” He also checked Shazam and found that the song used is “Prettiest World” by Daniel Nordgren. Prettiest world indeed. A world where walking is difficult, riding a bicycle is difficult, public transport is difficult and the only way to get around is in an Audi Quattro. Desperate times for Audi. They’re striking back. Next up is Lexus. We’ve all heard that those pesky youngsters are driving less all around the western world. The demotorization of society is well under way. We know WHY they’re not bothering to get driving licences. Damned social media. They can be sociable online instead of having to drive to the mall to hang out and suck on 40 gallon Cokes. The car industry knows this all too well, too. So Lexus went for it. They want this to be a December to remember.
This December, remember: you can stay in and “Share” something or you can get out there with your friends and actually share something. This is the pursuit of perfection.
Buy the Lexus and you’ll get a leggy girl begging to be with you. You’ll experience traffic-free streets in major urban centres. You won’t have to “share” those streets with ANYONE.
Lexus is striking back. And, like so many of these commercials, it seems desperate.
The always brilliant Sarah Goodyear over at The Atlantic Cities wrote about this ad as well. Be sure to check it out.
More Car Industry Strikes Back articles from the series.
Know of any others? Let us know.
