Audi
Heart R8

How to set a new generation of drivers' hearts racing by releasing an untamed sports car into the wilds of social media.

THE BRIEF

While Audi was still respected as a car brand, younger drivers in the UK were having their heads turned by other exciting brands.

The launch of the Audi R8 was a chance to reset. Our brief was to prove this sports car was a force to be reckoned with but without defaulting to the tired cliches of twisting (Alpine) roads.

THE SOLUTION

Online research revealed drivers referred to the R8 as “a beast”. So I imagined what would happen if you stepped into a cage with a beast: your heart would start racing.

This observation shaped the Heart R8 concept: a filmed experiment to discover how an individual’s heart rate would react to staring down an Audi R8 on a rolling road.

HYPE MACHINE

The campaign was like nothing Audi had ever done before for a sports car: grittier, sexier and not a race track in sight.

The film would reveal the R8 for the first time, so we created hype by teasing tight shots of the car each day until the film went live.

@audiuk Check your pulse. One week to go... #R8

@audiuk Four rings? Four days to go. #R8

@audiuk Check your mirrors. Two more days. #R8

@audi Tomorrow, we release the beast. #r8

LONDON CALLING

An Influencer partnership ran alongside the Heart R8 film. London creators were given the R8 - and other Audi models - and briefed to photograph the car in urban locations, adding to the campaign’s already edgy aesthetic. This marked the first time Audi UK had worked with influencers