Billboard upping the ante

Ogilvy Johannesburg creative director Fran Luckin says the introduction of this vehicle will see the re-positioning of competing brands. "The headline, 'The end of generation X. The new Audi Q7', is meant to be provocative," she says.

Audi's existing TV and print campaign focuses on Quattro, the first-ever all-wheel drive (AWD) technology applied to volume produced passenger cars. Now, says Audi, it has produced a car for Quattro and this was the core message Ogilvy Johannesburg had to mull over when it was briefed to come up with activations that would reinforce Audi's Q7 message.

Luckin says because the TV and radio spots came from the US, her team needed to come up with an interesting campaign to give the SA launch some local flavour.

To create further buzz for the launch, a cavalcade of Audi Q7's sporting the same message has been spotted around Pretoria and Johannesburg. The cavalcade also made its way to the Loeries in KwaZulu-Natal, where Ogilvy's Audi "Magnifying Glass" poster campaign and "Satnav" radio campaign snapped up Bronze awards.

Audi SA marketing communications manager Chayne Brand says the Audi Q7 marks yet another milestone in the progression of the Audi brand.

"True to our brand philosophy of Vorsprung, the communication around the launch of the vehicle emulates this progressive attitude. Audi communication sets out to be thought-provoking, impactful and challenge the status quo. The Audi Q7 launch campaign does this at various levels - by building on Audi's superior Quattro heritage as well as recognising that the brand appeals to a whole new generation of premium customer," he says.

The team behind the Audi Q7 campaign comprises creative director Fran Luckin, art director Vanessa Gibson and copywriter Alison Hingle from Ogilvy Johannesburg.