Audi Canada has basked in the spotlight at the Toronto International Film Festival before, but never to the extent it’s doing this time around. For starters, the Ajax, ON-HQ’d company actually got a gaggle of movie stars – including George Clooney and Brad Pitt – to agree to appear in Audis during the 10-day fest, which kicked off yesterday.
‘We worked with their studios to offer (each actor) a number of models to choose from,’ Audi Canada’s director of communications/marketing, Douglas Clark, tells MiC. Pitt decided to show up at the gala for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford in a Q7 SUV, which was all very well. But Hollywood-style serendipity struck when Clooney decided to make his red carpet entrance for Michael Clayton in an R8 – Audi’s first-ever mid-engine sports car.
It just so happens the autoco has a major marketing campaign for its R8 set to roll out next month – with creative by Lowe Roche and media strategy by Media:com/MBS (both Toronto-based). Introducing the $139,000 car to the influentsia beforehand with a star of Clooney’s magnitude inside, says Clark, ‘is a way to show the world in which Audi travels.’
Gorgeous George won’t be the only celeb tooling around TIFF in an Audi. In addition to his buddy Brad, other stars who said yes include: Jodie Foster, Kevin Bacon, Jude Law, Michael Caine, Sean Penn, Jessica Alba and Marcia Gay Harden.
As well, the automaker is sponsoring a number of Time Style & Design after-parties, including a knees-up for Trumbo, which stars Michael Douglas, Liam Neeson, Joan Allen and Nathan Lane; and another for the Canadian film Walk All Over Me, starring Leelee Sobieski and Tricia Helfer. Additionally, Audi is the official car of the Best Buddies 13th Annual Gala, for which Burt Reynolds is slated to arrive in an R8.
Audi will also showcase the R8 with displays at Hello Magazine’s high-profile party. And that model, along with its TT and RS 4, will be prominently displayed at several other festival venues, among them Toronto’s Distillery District, Carlu and Gardiner Museum.
Does Audi plan to leverage all that stardust in its R8 campaign? Clark says it’s too early to spill the beans. ‘But yes, we’ll look to expand upon this.’
