Audi & BMW Ad Wars

Taking shots at the competition through comparative advertisements isn’t a new concept. We’ve seen it time and time again. Companies comparing themselves to their competitors in an attempt to show the customer just why they are the best choice. A well known example being the “cola wars”, the battle between Coke and Pepsi in the 80’s, with ad campaigns constantly going back and forth and taking jabs at one another. (For a more up to date example, please refer to any recent political campaign in your area) But lately it seems that more and more of the competitors are starting to fire back.

The ongoing battle between Audi and BMW is one of my favorites, and has definitely been generating a lot of buzz in 2009, bBut before we get to the new ads from the two car companies; let’s take a look at some past examples from 2006.

The BMW ad aimed at Audi

The Ad that started it all

And then Audi’s response

This was just the beginning…in 2009, the automakers really took it too the next level.

It’s a bold move mentioning the competitor’s name in your ads. Not only are you providing them with some publicity, but you are setting the stage for them to come back at you, and as you are about to see in Audi’s case, they may just come back bigger and better. This is the Audi billboard that popped up earlier this year on Santa Monica Blvd.

And not so long after Audi put up this billboard just asking BMW for it,  this billboard was put up just across the street.

I just love this response, which was put together by Juggernaut Advertising in California.  Since BMW’s comeback,  Audi has started a Facebook group asking fans to help them come up with their comeback.  But I think it’s fair to say this round goes to BMW.

-RB

Billboard photos from www.bmwblog.com