Audi is claiming a first in Super Bowl advertising: The inclusion of a Twitter hashtag at the end of its 60-second TV spot.
The hashtag “#ProgressIs” will flash during the automaker’s ad in the first break after kick-off Sunday. Viewers who use that hashtag and the URL audi.us/ProgressIs in their tweets will enter a contest with the grand prize of a trip to Sonoma, California, for a test drive of the Audi R8 supercar later this month. Audi will also award $25,000 to a charity on behalf of the grand prize winner.
The theme “ProgressIs” is based on the automaker’s new brand positioning, which revolves around the theme expressed in the brand’s new tagline: “Luxury has progressed.” The Super Bowl ad, promoting the A8 sedan, will feature two well-dressed inmates trying to escape from a luxury prison. It also features a cameo by soft jazz icon Kenny G. (The company, hoping to keep an aura of mystery around the ad, isn’t releasing any further details.)
A rep for Audi, says that the company intends to spark conversations on Twitter about what progressive luxury is. The rep added that she believes that no one has ever used a Twitter hashtag during a Super Bowl spot. “From all our research, it looks like we’re the first ones.”
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