Audi uses 2017 Super Bowl Commercial to advocate equal pay for men, women

Is 2017 the year of the political Super Bowl commercial? We’re certainly starting to wonder that. You’ve got 84 Lumber and Budweiser looking at commercials that are talking about immigration and the journey many people face while trying to enter the country.

For Audi, they are choosing to use a commercial featuring a children’s go-kart race in order to discuss equal pay in the workplace, and their mission to try and ensure that men and women get the same compensation for their work. It’s a cause that they are committed to, and there will be some people out there who love this. Meanwhile, there’s going to be many others who complain about having a minute of their time wasted when they could’ve been watching somebody fart in a Bud Light can.

What worked – Great choice of music with “Beethoven’s 5 Secrets.” Meanwhile, you’ve got a stunning visual here coupled with some powerful narration as a parent ponders over how he will tell his daughter that her work is somehow less valued than that of a man. (Sure, go ahead and spout whatever statistics you want in the comments; the reality is that there are still many industries in which the gender pay gap still exists.) It does a great job tugging at the emotional heartstrings.

What didn’t – Judging from the YouTube comments alone, there are going to be a few million people who are going to hate this just because it shoves politics down your throat more so than it does try to sell a car. To be fair, Audi doesn’t really do a whole lot to sell their brand here; personally, we’d prefer finding a way to mix their message into something with better brand recognition.

Overall – We applaud the message, since it’s an important one to pass along. The unfortunate thing is that this may not be the right venue in order to pass this said message along, given that there are going to be some people out there who strictly aren’t all that interested in listening. We applaud the effort, but the ad fails to get the balance of messaging to brand awareness. Grade: B-.

What did you think of the ad? Share now in the comments, and head over here to get some other commercials from the big game! (Photo: Audi.)