Decoding Audi's Send in The Clowns Ad Campaign

A Montage of the Send in the Clowns Campaign

This essay will decode the 'Send in The Clowns' Campaign and explore the advertising theories and approaches being are used.

I have chosen the “Send in the clowns” campaign by Audi as my subject. The campaign launched in October 2017 and was created by the BBH London agency (Atiken, 2017). The campaign ran on television, was the first ad to feature at the British Film Institute and was advertised on YouTube. I will be focusing on the television execution of the ad for my analysis.

My montage is organised into four sections: the intended target audience, how the advert has been illustrated, the strategy the brand used and the advert’s proposition. I will explain the reasoning behind my images and sections starting with target audience.

The target audience images located bottom left show pictures of young, new drivers and matured, seasoned drivers. Audi is a car manufacturer that produces vehicles for all sorts of purposes and for different kind of drivers. The brand’s target audience is very broad. The advert targets those looking for a new car to purchase, existing Audi drivers, and owners of rival car manufactures; Essentially anyone with a full driving licence aged 17 and upwards.

As the target audience is so broad and diverse, using mass media channels would be the most convenient method of delivering their advert. Television has the largest reach out of all forms of media and accounts for 95% of ad viewing time. Within one week 90% of the population would have watched TV and 97% within a month, so it wise of Audi to primarily air their advert on television (Thinkbox, 2018).

The advert has been illustrated in a very intelligent, comedic and colourful manner. Throughout the advert the clowns are shown behaving carelessly, causing havoc on the roads and doing dangerous manoeuvres, I have used images located top left to show this. The perceived reason for the campaign and the strategy the brand used are very closely linked so I will explain both sections together. Images for the brand’s strategy are located top right. The well thought choice of the visual stimuli used in the ad alongside the strategy created a light tone and enthusiastic mood. Using Cialdini’s weapon of influence: Liking, to analyse the advert, various elements such as the vivid colours used, the soundtrack, the comedic effect created by the clowns and the elegance and beauty of the car causes the audience to generate a liking towards the brand.

There has been this ideology created that clowns are to be feared and this has been caused by society. However, Audi’s advert reminds us of the true meaning of what clowns are for and

that to make the audience laugh through their comedic acts, this has also helped make the advert more memorable. The mellow, beautiful and elegant soundtrack further enhances the beauty of the car. A direct comparison is made between the clowns and the car, one’s behaviour is the wild and energetic whilst the car is gentle and composed, harmonising with the soundtrack. The conflicting attitudes creates a perfect balance and the name of the soundtrack is very fitting “Send in the clowns” for the ad (Carter, 2017).

The advert presents the clowns being used as a metaphor for bad drivers; They are also viewed as an allegory portraying a deeper meaning. The clowns behave as (clown drivers) bad motorist, something most if not every driver has experienced. This immediately allows the audience to be able to relate to these situations. The advert is conveying a message of how Audi’s road safety technology will keep you safe from the dangers out on the road. Audi uses a ‘show don’t tell approach’ to demonstrate how you can benefits from their car’s AI by showing different situation and encounters of how the car negates danger (Carter, 2017).

Another metaphor used within the ad is that Audi drivers are smart and safer drivers. The range of Audi models used calmly saves the day with their hi-tech road safety capabilities, saving both drivers from having a fatal accident (Bartle Bogle Hegarty, 2018). This is all shown with images in the top half of the montage.

By applying a hierarchy of effects model, AIDA to analyse the campaign, instantly the audience’s attention is drawn to the vivid colours and two wacky clowns messing about inside the car. This can also provoke an interest to the narrative, wondering what will happen next or question how things will turn out. The audience’s attention is retained throughout by watching how the other encounters enfold between the clowns and the Audi. A desire for the car is generated after witnessing its clever road safety AI in operation. Continuous demonstrations of the car’s benefits are show throughout ad, this reinforces Audi’s commitment to road safety. Followed by a call to action which is just the advert’s slogan “Audi Technology, clown proof” followed by the brand logo and strapline. No other language elements were used, and no specific product range was not advertised. Meaning the brand wanted to increase awareness of their products and what they are capable of, in hope their audience would have developed a liking towards the product and feel convicted enough to find out more about the technology.

Images of the brand’s proposition is located on the bottom right of my montage. Audi’s brand slogan is “Vorsprung durch Technik” which translates into English as “Being ahead through technology” and Audi have demonstrated that very clearly though creative advertising. The ‘Send in the clowns’ campaign is proposing that if your purchase an Audi vehicle equip with their road safety technology, your car will aid you in avoiding a collision with a ‘clown drivers’, assist with parking, perform an emergency stop and adaptive cruise control.

Artificial intelligence within the cars can react to situations and see hazards a lot faster than humans can. A computer’s reaction time is instant whereas several factors are involved in how fast a human can react. Although AI may be able to react faster they are only an aid to ensure safer driving and for the convenience of the driver.

The campaign has been extremely successful for Audi and the BBH London agency. The campaign was chosen by the Thinkbox Academy as the latest winner of the latest Thinkboxes award for TV ad creativity (Carter, 2017). The campaign succeeded in delivering a different tone than using usual car ad cliché. Comedy and great visuals were the focus of the creative process and incorporating product demonstrations made it clear what the brand wanted communicating to the audience. The narrative using different clowns held the audience’s interest, in anticipation of what the car will do next.

References:

Atiken, L., 2017. Send in the clowns: Audi shows off its intelligent cars [online]. London: WARC. Available from: https://www-warc- com.libezproxy.bournemouth.ac.uk/content/article/warc- exclusive/send_in_the_clowns_audi_shows_off_its_intelligent_cars/118185 [Accessed 29 July 2018].

Bartle Bogle Hegarty., 2018. Clowns [online]. London: BBH Available from: http://www.bartleboglehegarty.com/london/work/clowns/ [Accessed 29 July 2018].

Carter, M., 2017. Behind the scenes of Audi’s “Clowns” [online]. London: Campaign. Available from: https://www.campaignlive.co.uk/article/behind-scenes-audis- clowns/1455482 [Accessed 29 July 2018].

Thinkbox., 2018. TV has unbeatable scale and reach [online]. London: Thinkbox. Available from: https://www.thinkbox.tv/Why-TV/Unbeatable-scale-and-reach [Accessed 29 July 2018].