Audi Freshens Up Image With Branded Content In China

Cool branded content campaigns in China have become the norm and now Audi is planning on breaking its staid image there to attract the next generation of car owners.

It all kickstarted last November when the German premium automaker plunged into the world of anime by collaborating with streaming platform Bilibili’s animation series “Ling Cage: Incarnation”.

It did so by seamlessly incorporating a souped-up version of its futuristic AL: Trail concept car in a branded short within an episode of the hit animation series. Not long after, Audi announced that Bai Yueke, the character seen driving the AI: Trail, would become the brand’s first virtual Audi owner.

Hot on the trail was an Audi-backed short film for Christmas which featured Bai Yuekui, once again driving the AI: Trail through the post-apocalyptic dystopian universe of “Ling Cage” as she sets out to mark the year-end holiday in the only way she can. But as she stops to place presents at a memorial site, the bleak ruins that surround her morph into a effervescent city brimming with festive cheer, and she receives a fabulous Christmas present: the reappearance of a special someone along with a brand new Audi 3 Sportback.

The move comes in a time when Audi—which has long been viewed as staid, partly due to its long term association with the Chinese government—has to freshen up its image if it wants to be the automobile of choice for Gen Z Chinese consumers, who will represent an estimated 40m potential car owners in the country over the next five years, according to media reports.