An advert for Audi which aired during Sunday’s Super Bowl in the US has garnered both praise and fury for the German car manufacturer.
Daughter shows a girl racing against boys in a soapbox derby while her father, voiced by actor George Clooney, asks: \u00ab\u00a0What do I tell my daughter? Do I tell her grandpa is worth more than her grandma? That her dad is worth more than her mom? Do I tell her that despite her education, her drive, her skills, her intelligence, she will automatically be valued as less than every man she meets? \u00a0\u00bb
The girl then wins the race, and the father concludes: \u00ab\u00a0Or maybe I’ll be able to tell her something different. \u00a0\u00bb
The advert ends with the tagline: \u00ab\u00a0Progress is for everyone. \u00a0\u00bb
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The Audi of America website expands on the campaign, citing a US Joint Economic Committee report from April 2016 which found that on average American women are paid 21% less than men. \u00ab\u00a0So at Audi of America, we are standing up alongside every other organization that supports this important cause,\u00a0\u00bb the website says.
While many viewers applauded the ad, there has also been considerable backlash. On YouTube, where it was first published on 1 February, dislikes currently outnumber likes by more than 12,000.
\u00ab\u00a0Tell your daughter to work for what she wants… Not beg for special treatment because she’s a woman,\u00a0\u00bb says one viewer.
\u00ab\u00a0Propaganda. Absolutely disgusting,\u00a0\u00bb simply says another.
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Lisa Granatstein, editor at Adweek, said that although there have been female empowerment ad campaigns during the Super Bowl before – including last year’s Like a Girl campaign for Always – Audi’s is \u00ab\u00a0one step forward\u00a0\u00bb by taking on a specific issue like the pay gap which has become \u00ab\u00a0part of the national conversation\u00a0\u00bb.
Ms Granatstein said she thought Daughter was \u00ab\u00a0a very bold stand in terms of celebrating and campaigning for pay equity which has become a big issue in this country. \u00a0\u00bb
As for the backlash, she felt this was partly due to \u00ab\u00a0the tone that it was implied that men did not value women equally\u00a0\u00bb.
\u00ab\u00a0Every time an advertiser steps into a political fray they risk some backlash. \u00a0\u00bb
But she said that Audi will be well aware that almost half of Super Bowl viewers are women and \u00ab\u00a0women are decision makers, they are buying cars themselves, and why not support them? \u00a0\u00bb
Wesley Hartman, professor of marketing at Stanford University, said that the ad was a strategic move.
\u00ab\u00a0In tackling the gender pay gap it is looking to broaden its consumer base and tackle its corporate responsibility. The image of Audi is pretty irresponsible right now with the Volkswagen emission controversy and this is a way to improve their corporate image in a way that is unconnected. \u00a0\u00bb
But he said he felt the Super Bowl \u00ab\u00a0is not necessarily the right venue to be political – with such a wide viewership of all political leanings it is not surprising to get a fight back\u00a0\u00bb.
Commentators pointed out that this year’s Super Bowl ads were especially political, including emphases on diversity and immigration. An advert by holiday rental company Airbnb showed people of different races and said: \u00ab\u00a0We believe no matter who you are, where you’re from, who you love or who you worship, we all belong,\u00a0\u00bb the advert said. \u00ab\u00a0The world is more beautiful the more you accept. \u00a0\u00bb
And a building materials supplier, 84 Lumber, showed the journey made by a family from Central America to the US, the longer online version of which shows them arriving at a huge wall, only to find someone had built a door into it.
There was also plenty of support for the ad.
\u00ab\u00a0I love this ad. How could anyone not want their daughter, mother or wife to be treated equally? Thanks Audi,\u00a0\u00bb said @ChristinaDay99.
\u00ab\u00a0Really happy to own an Audi, especially after seeing this,\u00a0\u00bb tweeted @Justineplays.
But several viewers also pointed out that despite Audi’s professed ambitions for gender equality, only two of the people on its 14-member US executive board are women.
Audi responded by saying: \u00ab\u00a0Twelve percent of senior management at Audi of America are women. We have pledged to put aggressive hiring and development strategies in place to increase the number of women in our workforce, at all levels, and will work aggressively towards that goal. \u00ab\u00a0<\/p>\n

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