We can tell from the body language between the man and child, for example when the man carries the child, that they are father and son. They obviously have a close, loving relationship and this will enchant the viewers as they will aspire to achieve this level of contentment in their own lives. The father and son in the advert are both attractive looking people. They are pleasant to watch, the father is a handsome middle aged man and the son is very sweet. Both characters will appeal visually to the viewers.
The advert is set somewhere in central Europe, probably in Germany as that is where the company is based. They used central Europe because all the terrains that they wanted to show the car in were available in a small area. You can tell it is central Europe from the architecture in the background. Also in the background is a mosque; this shows that the advert is directed at all cultures. The journey takes the father and son through traditional and modern landscape. There is a contrast between the old roads, old style buildings and the modern tunnel which the car drives through at night. This shows that the car looks good in every type of setting, demonstrating that whilst it is modern, it is after all the “new generation” Audi, it is attractive in all environments, displaying the fact that it will remain a classic.
The advert shows almost all driving conditions imaginable. It starts off at sunset which is meant to be the hardest time to drive, and then sunset turns to night which allows the advert to demonstrate how good the car’s headlights are. When the car is shown leaving the house, it is driven down a stony path, which is replaced by normal roads, through woodland in the rain, and then onto city streets; these conditions are designed to show how the car can handle all terrains. . The advert demonstrates the car’s excellent handling of the road in all conditions as it makes a difficult turning in the rain. In addition the advert demonstrates the father’s faith in the car, he believes that the car will get him there on time; this is shown when we see the car stop at the red traffic light. The father drums his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently yet does wait for the lights to change before he continues his journey.
The advert starts with very dramatic music being played by a xylophone and piano. The music enhances the suspense in the advert. The music gets louder just before the speaking starts, which draws our attention to the voice. As the car journey goes on the instrumental music is replaced by opera. The music gives us the idea of someone on a quest; it’s the type of music that you might hear in a dramatic war scene during a film. At the end of the advert the music reaches its climax suggests that someone has just achieved a triumph. Then we see the baby and hear it crying. Classical music is used because it’s the type of music that we presume the target audience would like to listen to.
The voice in the advert is a woman’s voice. The introduction of a woman completes the family as previously we have only seen the father and son, and it makes the advert appeal to both genders. As it is a gentle female voice it contrasts with the dramatic music. The audience will therefore seek refuge in the voice. The audience the advert is directed at appears to be middle class and possible privately educated since it uses formal language. The woman starts off by saying, “Life is full of decisions, some of the head some of the heart.” When she says “some of the head” we see the car indicating that it is going to turn and when she says “some of the heart” we see the little boy. The next thing she says is, “Take your next car. Will it have a catalytic converter, which removes 95% of pollutants?” This tells us that the car is environmentally friendly, which once again shows concern for the new generation., the new baby being born will live in a pollutant free world thanks to the help of the new Audi. The voice then proceeds to list the other features of the car, “Will it be clean, yet lose nothing in performance? Will it have all of this at no extra cost? In short will it be one of the new generations of Audis?” The rhetorical questions are there to engage the viewer into thinking about the most suitable type of car to purchase. She then states the company’s motto “Vorsprung durch technik” (advancement through technology) and says it's “as both your head and your heart would say.” The car is favourable to both the head and the heart because it is stylish and attractive whilst at the same time safe, environmentally friendly and in every respect a good family car. This is a new generation of car which will protect the new generation being born at the end of the advert.
Throughout the advert, the viewer sees lots of shots of the inside and outside of the car to give a full impression of what the car looks like. At the beginning, shots of sunrays reflecting off the car make it appear to sparkle and suggest that the car is very glamorous. It sustains the glow around the car for the entire advert, this ensures that the viewer never loses sight of the car and it stands out from the other cars on the road. Later on, we see the young boy tying his shoelaces in the back of the car, which shows that there is plenty of legroom in the back and also room for the growing family the car is targeted at. It also enables us to see the plush leather seats in the back which also adds to the idea that the car is targeted at a wealthy audience.
There is lots of circle imagery in the advert, for instance the zoetrope and the carousel. On the inside of the zoetrope there is a penny-farthing, the first bicycle ever made. By contrast, the car is one of the latest cars, demonstrating the progression of transport and so giving the idea of technology advancing which is part of the company’s motto. The company logo is also made up of circles. The progression from old to new and the circle imagery shows a prevalent theme of the advert, the idea of the circle of life. This is also demonstrated in the advert by the father who belongs to one generation and the new born baby who represents the next generation, a direct link to the car that is described as a new generation of car.
The advert uses Hitchcockian suspense by means of lots of dark shadows outside the car. These shadows emphasise the safety within the car. A man on the street is shown in big shadows looking suspicious; this represents the father’s fears, his main concern being the safety of his family. However, both father and son are safe within the car. Another demonstration of the car’s safety is when they arrive at the hospital and the boy can’t get out of the car, thereby showing its child locking system. In the beginning, we see a camera shot of the phone hanging which adds suspense because we are left with no clue as to what’s going on in the advert and hence this keeps the audience’s attention making them watch the whole advert which keeps them thinking about the product. The father then rushes off with his son without a word of explanation; by being left ignorant as to where they are rushing to the suspense is maintained.
The advert is very clever as we watch it in suspense, believing the journey to be one which is prompted by tragic news, the father’s haste, the lack of conversation between father and son, the doom filled music and the run up the hospital corridor, where we see the cliché “the light at the end of the tunnel” all contribute to this assumption. However we are relieved to see that what we thought would be tragic turns out to be a moment of joy. This manipulation of our emotions ensures our enjoyment of the advert, as it is common to revel in a “happy ending.”
I think the advertisers would have screened the advert late at evening as this is when the middle-aged target audience, home from work, would be relaxing at the end of the day. I expect the advert to have been successful as the makers of the advert had taken great care in making sure that every aspect of the advert appealed to the target audience, from the type of music played in the background to the scenery shown, the size of house, the location of the advert. Lots of shots of the car were shown to demonstrate its safety features and how spacious it was for the growing family and even the type of clothes worn were selected carefully to match those that the target audience would wear. It is a very effective advert as the suspenseful narrative will ensure continued watching and make the advert memorable and the multi –layers of the advert appeal to the educated members of the audience.
