Audi is emerging as the upholder of good sense in a luxury electric vehicle market that's seen some wild brand and product design recently. Understated but clever and effective, its latest billboard advertising is a shining example of how simple design details can speak louder than fashion statements.
While the Jaguar Type 00 stuns Paris Fashion Week and the Tesla Cybertruck flop descends into farce with sales pitches live from the White House, Audi's being all sensible and German by talking about the actual design of its vehicles. And it's doing it with great style.
Created by BBH London, the out-of-home campaign in the UK is deconstructing the Audi A6 E-tron into bite-size selling points. There are both traditional and video billboards highlighting the car's range, its fast-charging capabilities, its technology, and, in the piece above, the Audi A6 Sportback E-tronʼs aerodynamic performance.
The campaign starts with a folding guide for a paper aeroplane (top image), with the Audi A6 Sportback E-tron sliced across the page . Once put together, the aeroplane reveals the whole car.
The campaign was precisely engineered through a sequential media strategy, managed by PHD. Billboards in high-dwell time locations were strategically planned so commuters would encounter the flat lay version of the paper aeroplane first, sparking curiosity before the fully constructed plane appears in subsequent placements.
This idea came from Simon Finn and Matthew Chong, a pair of junior creatives on BBHʼs eight-month creative incubator course, Barn. It just shows how great ideas can emerge when talent is given the freedom to experiment.
Each billboard is the essence of simple but effective advertising: a single message clearly communicated in an unexpected and memorable way. It also perfectly (and quietly) expresses Audi's traditional brand focus on luxury alongside innovation, precision and progressive design, capturing attention without a need for dramatics.
"Itʼs not just another car ad," says Uche Ezugwu, Creative Director at BBH said. "It breaks the mold of what a launch should be, showcasing innovation and performance in the most refined, effortless way. For this to come from one of our Barn teams, is the cherry on the cake.ˮ
The Jaguar Type 00 and Cybertruck launches also broke the mold in their own ways. But by sticking to its brand and emphasising real sales points, Audi's focusing on what a lot of people are saying Jaguar and Tesla have been missing: the design of the cars.
For an example of how not to sell an electric car, see the terrible Volvo AI advert. Also check out our pick of the best billboards ads for more OHH campaign inspiration.
