Audi A8 Super Bowl ad features groundbreaking Twitter hashtag 

Monday, February 07 2011 by Steve Swallow

Audi took product and website promotion to a whole new level this weekend, laying claim to being the first company to feature a Twitter hashtag in a major TV advert.

The car brand aired the new TV ad for the luxury Audi A8 model during the Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, but the focus was clearly on the breakthrough use of the tweet neme #ProgressIs.

Audiences were prompted to use the hashtag and the URL audi.us/ProgressIs in their tweets to become eligible for a competition to win an Audi R8 supercar test drive later this month.

The manufacturer also promised to make a $25,000 (£16,000) donation to a charity chosen by the eventual winner.

Many noted the cameo by musician Kenny G in the TV ad, which focused on a prison breakout to reflect the breaking out of its model designs from traditional luxury stereotypes.

However, there was a sense that for all its premiere hype, the inclusion of the hashtag may have gone unnoticed by many viewers.

The advert was by no means the most popular aired during the popular sports event, which commands a massive TV and online audience worldwide.

A national study conducted by HCD Research during the Super Bowl event did not even rank Audi's Twitter hashtag effort among the top five ads of the evening - a fact that will no doubt have many internet consultants scratching their heads.

The survey of viewers analysed several measures, including levels of interest, emotion and involvement, as well as ranking the word of mouth impact of the ads, which no doubt included some reference to how much the ads were talked about on social media such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

The most popular ad of the evening was another car-related feature by Bridgestone, whose depiction of a saluting beaver won praise of its humour and ingenuity.

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