The seamless driving experience of the Audi Q5 was the inspiration for the core idea behind Ogilvy Johannesburg’s latest TV commercial for the launch of the Audi Q5.
Audi wanted a commercial that was different from typical car commercials, says Ogilvy Johannesburg business director Candice Shortt. It had to demonstrated the vehicle’s technological precision and harmonious functioning, reflecting Audi’s philosophy of Vorsprung Durch Technik (Progress through Technology). The ad was conceptualised and shot entirely in South Africa, says Shortt.
The commercial employs a highly original technique in that the car is depicted in a series of flipbooks held up to the camera. As the pages flip, the car moves and, magically, the scenery behind the flipbook is affected as well.
“Flipbooks only work when a series of images is faultlessly timed and cued to create the illusion of continuous motion,” says executive creative director Fran Luckin. “The images and rate at which the book is flipped must be perfectly synchronised – which made it the perfect metaphor for the Audi Q5 with all its technology working in perfect harmony.”
The background in the flipbook matches the live-action background behind it at all times. The flipbooks are seamlessly cued to create a smooth, uninterrupted driving sequence and, as one flipbook ends, the next one is instantly in place to continue the journey. In one scene, when the Audi
Q5 – in the flipbook – drives under a set of telephone lines, the birds sitting on the wiring disperse and fly out of the flipbook and into the live action background where the same telephone lines wind their way along the road.
Audi Marketing Communications Manager Rudi Venter says Audi’s communication with its target audiences is aimed at differentiating Audi vehicles. “The Q5 is a performance SUV with a sport’s car’s DNA, driven by extreme technical precision and Ogilvy has perfectly captured this.”
Shortt says the Audi Q5 promotion is a great example of Ogilvy’s 360 degree approach, which is central to its philosophy of Brand Liberation.
“This commercial is the result of a true partnership between Audi and Ogilvy Johannesburg, with the dedicated involvement of other agencies in our group, including GO, Brand Activation, and Ogilvy Interactive.”
