Visit Sinister Beauty – 80 000 people eaten for breakfast

The campaign certainly gave people a taste for the shadows: so far it has generated 13.4m advertising impressions in total across the campaign, a click through rate of between 2-5 times industry average, and well over 61,000 people have experienced the RS4’s lair at www.sinisterbeauty.co.uk.

Audi were launching the RS4, a powerful, stylish sports saloon and their fastest production car ever. They wanted to use the RS4 to create a “halo effect” on the Audi brand: to help build Audi’s reputation for producing exciting new vehicles and drive its overall image as a progressive, prestige brand, as well as increase interest in the A4, the RS4’s more affordable younger brother.

The TV campaign cast the RS4 as a deadly spider, devouring other cars: we were briefed to extend the TV ad into a digital brand experience to engage the target audience and increase the time they spent with the campaign.

We wanted to use the aggressive, menacing personality of the TV ad, but we had to be true to Audi’s sophisticated, intelligent image. So, in line with the predatory nature of the RS4, we developed the style of previous TV ads to create a tone which we described as “Sinister Beauty”. We then extended Sinister Beauty across the whole digital realm, including a website, online advertising, Transvision screens, and mobile, PSP, iPod and iTV content.

It was Audi’s most successful iTV experience at that time.

See Beneath, a sinister short film

From podcasts to PSP – download Audi Podcast

How long before you get eaten?

Chris Hawken, Brand Communications Manager at Audi comments: “Using a vast number of digital communications channels is a first for Audi, and this strategy fits perfectly with the brand proposition of the new RS4 – high performance and true ‘Vorsprung durch Technik.”

See the RS4 campaign showreel.

Awards:

RS4 campaign was a 2006 Cyber Lion Finalist – Interactive Campaign

2006 FINALISTs London International Awards – Interactive Media