2016 Super Bowl commercials: Audi uses David Bowie’s ‘Starman’ to make legendary ad

 

It’s not often, but sometimes an ad comes together perfectly in between a premise, a design, the visuals, and the music to create something special. That’s what we feel Audi has done with their latest spot for Super Bowl 50. It’s emotionally, nostalgic, and at the same time incredibly timely and dare we say it lucky. It’s one people will be talking about.

The idea – An elderly man longs for the days when he felt like his life mattered and when he was in control during the space race. When another man (his son?) allows him to get behind the wheel of his Audi R8, everything changes for him and he feels alive again. The spirit of adventure is back.

What works – We’d love to know the story of whether or not Audi cleared “Starman” before David Bowie’s death or after, since the timing of it all adds another layer of emotional power to the proceedings. The premise itself would be strong with another song, but having that present here with themes of exploration / second chances is a nice touch.

What doesn’t – If you want to be really cynical you could argue that if this car is the only thing keeping this old man happy, that’s not exactly a great way for him to live since he can’t be driving all day. Still, that’s a big stretch.

Overall Grade – A. We’d stop short of giving it a full A+ right now since we haven’t had enough distance from it to know for sure it’s an instant classic. What we can say is that this is one of the best ads this year, and it does everything you want to see from a spot during the game if you’re Audi.

If you want more ads from Super Bowl Sunday, be sure to head over to this link right now! Also, sign up over here to get some more TV news on everything we cover at the site weekly, sent right over to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: Audi)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yB8tgVqmKzw