Audi aired an advertisement which focused on the elderly days of a retired US astronaut. The advertisement starts off with an elderly man sitting silently in front of his meal, remembering the days of his past space exploration. As he recollects his memories, his caretaker attempts to get him to eat his dinner but fails. However, when his son convinces him to drive his Audi, he regains his young sense of adventure from his days of being an astronaut and speeds off in his car. Despite its very clear message, Audi has many hidden messages and techniques of persuasion laying in their advertisement.
For instance, Audi uses consumers’ need to escape when they display the elderly man re enacting his days as an astronaut in an Audi. Consumers are attracted when they witness how they can go on adventures that are on par with the Space Age by purchasing the car. Aside from their use of consumers’ need for adventure, Audi also uses simple solutions in their advertisement when they show how one can gain a sense of excitement and happiness. This simple solution is reflected when the elderly man smiles when drives the Audi, the only time he shows his happiness in the present time of the advertisement. From this, consumers will think they can be happy like the man by purchasing an Audi. Around the end of the advertisement, Audi incorporates a David Bowie tribute in their ad when they play “Starman”. To their benefit, their response to David Bowie’s death could attract consumers who are fans of the singer.
Aside from the techniques that are used in the advertisements, Audi includes many implicit messages. The way the elderly man’s caretaker is a person of color and a woman shows how Audi assumes that caretakers are mostly female people of color. The caretaker’s unsympathetic response to the elderly man refusing to eat his dinner reflects Audi’s belief that people of color don’t put much effort into their work. The way the elderly man was able to speed down a road without any obstacles shows Audi’s belief that no passing cars should be present when an elderly person is driving.
Overall, the advertisement seems to be pretty successful if you ignore Audi’s messages and techniques used in the ad.
Perhaps there is also the use of Patriotism. In the beginning they show the words United States, and also on the wall there is an eagle. In addition, the words "choosing the moon brings out the best in us" is a reference to the US's success in reaching the moon, so saying that could influence a person into thinking that if they bought the car, they could be like their country.
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