Audi launches ad campaign to ‘debunk misconceptions’ about electric vehicles (aka sell e-tron)

As Audi is bringing its all-electric e-tron SUV to the US, the German automaker is launching a new ad campaign that they claim will “debunk misconceptions” about electric vehicles.

We reported last week that Audi confirmed the e-tron electric SUV is coming to the US in May after a few production delays.

Now that the vehicle is ready to hit the market, Audi of America is launching a new ad campaign.

Loren Angelo, vice president of Marketing at Audi of America, commented on the new effort:

“As part of our commitment to electrification, we’ve recognized the need for more consumer education on what it really means to ‘go electric’. Our goal with ‘Not For You’—and ads like this year’s Super Bowl spot ‘Cashew’—is to ensure consumers have a better understanding of electric vehicles and debunk some longstanding myths about EV ownership.”

Earlier this year, Audi released a Superbowl ad for its electric vehicles to mixed reviews.

Now they claim that the new ad is still about electric vehicles in general, but this one is clearly more focused around the e-tron SUV:

https://youtu.be/5lloWmgHj6Y

Electrek’s Take

First of all, kudos to Audi for actually advertising electric vehicles. That’s not something a lot of automakers are doing (ahem Chevy) and therefore, you guys are already ahead of the curves just by actually be willing to engage in it.

Now if we can address the quality of the ad… I think it could be better…but I know we are talking about car ads here.

I get you guys want to “debunk some longstanding myths about EV ownership”, but that’s hardly what the ad is doing. It’s merely stating some EV myths and showing the e-tron doing things that vaguely contradict what the narrator is saying.

Maybe they could have added some facts about how those are misconceptions, like with the number of charging stations or some of the specs. “Wake up every morning with a full tank” seems to be popular.

If you close your eyes and just listen to the ad, it actually sounds like an ad campaign against electric vehicles.

But I understand that Audi is working with a lot of limitations here.

Audi can not outright explain how electric vehicles are actually better than gas-powered cars since that’s still a vast majority of their business. If they were to go into details and advertise the greatest advantages of EVs, they would have to attack what is still their core business for the moment.

Hopefully, they will soon realize that if they don’t cannibalize themselves on that front, someone else will…