Get a Whiff of This: Spec “Suicide” Audi Ad

Submitted by W.J. Elvin III about an unauthorized spec commercial for Audi A5:


Suicide: still not the best advertising theme from AdFreak.com, by Brian Morrissey, January 8, 2010

audisuicidead-200Oh goody, another suicide ad. What is it about cars that leads people to the suicide theme? You’ll recall that Volkswagen disowned a rogue suicide-bomber spec commercial four years ago. General Motors had no such choice after airing its disastrous suicidal-robot spot in the 2007 Super Bowl. Now comes a presumably unauthorized (or at least deniable) Audi spot showing a man in a parking garage trying to kill himself by attaching a hose to his tailpipe. Wouldn’t you know it, to his profound dismay, the diesel-powered Audi won’t produce enough toxic exhaust to do the job. Bummer. The on-screen copy reads, “Clean diesel technology. Good for the environment. Good for you.” We’re left with a cheery shot of the man closing the car window on his neck. My question: Has the suicide motif ever been used successfully in a commercial? It just seems like a bad direction to go in when you’re looking to check the “edgy” box.

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Related links:

  • Audi denies link to internet suicide ad
  • A “real” suicide car ad from Citroen, directed by Brian Baderman.
  • Controversial “Polo, Small But Tough” VW suicide bomber ad