In addition to the walk-around and active safety deep-dive videos of the B9 Audi A4, Ingolstadt’s US division has also released a series of ads for the new sports sedan with the slogan, “Intelligence is the new rock and roll.” These spots position the A4 as the smarter choice in the segment, and a couple of them aren’t afraid of throwing some not-so-subtle shade at its competitors to get the point across.

The first 30-second commercial, titled “Touch,” shows a man whose touch turns everyday objects into cutting-edge devices – for example, the old thermostat he adjusts becomes a cool digital one, his phone becomes a tablet and the analog watch he puts on turns into a smartwatch.

He then walks out of his house and gets to his “old-fashioned” car – which, of course, is a W205 Mercedes-Benz C-Class. His hand grazes the bonnet and, lo and behold, it becomes an A4, to his pleasant surprise. Let’s be quite honest here, the C-Class isn’t an outdated car by any stretch of the imagination; still, kudos to Audi for having the chutzpah to pull that one off.

The second ad, “Intelligent Statement,” is even more direct. It starts off with a static shot of an F30 BMW 3 Series, which then promptly gets covered by the Audi as the latter rolls up to a stoplight. “If you are going to make a statement, make sure it’s an intelligent one,” says the voiceover, upsetting pretty much every 3er owner in the process.

What do you think of these ads – are they a smart, tongue-in-cheek rib at its German rivals, or are they just unnecessarily outlandish and brash? As for whether or not the new B9 Audi A4 is actually as good as the brand says it is, you can read our review here.

GALLERY: B9 Audi A4 in Venice, Italy




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