Title	DON'T HATE. IMITATE. - THE SUPER BOWL CLAPBACK
Brand	AUDI NORWAY
Product/Service	AUDI E-TRON
Category	G02. Challenger Brand
Entrant	POL Oslo, NORWAY
Idea Creation	POL Oslo, NORWAY
Production	EINAR FILM & FORTELLINGER Oslo, NORWAY

Name	Company	Position
Robert Radoli	POL Oslo	Creative / Copywriter
Thorbjørn Ruud	POL Oslo	Creative / Art Director
Petter Bryde	POL Oslo	Account Executive
Shirin Pakzamir	POL Oslo	Project Manager
Ole Jakob Skattum	POL Oslo	Designer
Tommy Jensen	Audi Norway	Client
Elin Rosnes Sinervo	Audi Norway	Client
Aksel Hennnie	Einar Film	Director
Guri Neby	Einar Film	Executive Producer
Nicoline Helgø	Einar Film	Producer
Rut Solli	Einar Film	Producer
Sebastian Andrés Knutsen	Einar Film	Production Manager
Pål Ulvik Rokseth	Einar Film	DoP
Cyril Boije	Einar Film	Post Producer
Ida Fiskerud	Shortcut	Post Producer
Magnus Evensen	Shortcut	Offline Editor
Eirik Aarnes Vik	Shortcut	Online Grade
Petter Fagelund	Shortcut	Composer
Geirr Johnsen	Bråkmaker	Case Video Editor

Why is this work relevant for PR?

When a competing brand (humorously) “attacked us” in their Super Bowl ad, we treated it as a PR opportunity and took full advantage. By challenging competitor GM with smart, quick thinking and smart, quick implementation we managed to put Audi Norway and its electric vehicles at the center of the conversation around the biggest sporting event in the world. Audi Norway’s “Don’t Hate. Imitate – The Super Bowl Clapback” was a response that had all the hallmarks of a great PR campaign. Challenging our competitor GM in an innovating way was absolutely key to the success.

Background

For this year's Super Bowl campaign, Audi’s competitor General Motors promoted its electric vehicles with a series of teasers and a lead spot. “Why does Will Ferrell hate Norway?” was GMs big question. The spots featured Hollywood star Ferrell declaring his hate for Norway and waging war on our nation up north. His “hatred” was fueled by the fact that Norway is selling more EVs than any other country in the world. As the best-selling EV-brand in Norway, Audi felt the need to respond and fight back in true Norwegian, salmon-slapping style with the best Norway have to offer. How could we turn the "attack" on Norway from GM and Will Ferrell around to create PR for Audi Norway and our EV - Audi e-tron? It was the little "Norwegian David" versus the big "American Goliath", so the scene was set for a comeback of biblical proportions.

Describe the creative idea (20% of vote)

“Don’t Hate. Imitate” was the creative idea, the perfect response and challenge to change directed at GM and Will Ferrell’s for their “hate” for Norway. We challenged them to follow our lead, rather than hate. We recruited influencer, Game of Thrones star and proud Norwegian Kristofer Hivju (aka Tormund Giantsbane in GoT) to defend our country and spearhead our clapback against GM and Ferrell. GM wanted to set a new agenda and disrupt the auto market with their giant EV-push, but Audi Norway had other ideas. We disrupted the disruption with a bold “newsjacking”-idea.

Describe the PR strategy (30% of vote)

With just days left to the SuperBowl, we had to respond fast to create our PR-narrative to win the EV-battle. We got together the ingredients of a great PR-campaign. By putting influencer, Game of Thrones star and “archetypical Hollywood-Viking” Kristofer Hivju, up against “American-Hollywood-comedy-icon” Will Ferrell, we had the PR-fuel we needed. Two big stars and two big brands in a public “war”, national pride, SuperBowl and shareable and newsworthy content made people talk and share. And made journalists write and report. We created the PRfect storm. We put Audi at the center of the conversation with our message “Don’t hate. Imitate” and reinforced our position as the leading EV-brand in the leading EV-market. The PR-story and -videos were distributed through news-, sports- and entertainment media to get a broad reach. And targeted distribution in industry specific automotive- and advertising media. Social media was used to keep the conversation going.

Describe the PR execution (20% of vote)

Our response and PR story centered around influencer and Norwegian Game of Thrones star Kristofer Hivju on his quest to hit back at GM and Will Ferrell. Based on key elements and storyline from the GM ads, we responded swiftly with a humorous twist. In GMs ad Ferrell, in his determination to hate Norway, punched a hole in a globe where Norway is located. We turned the crushed globe, the symbol of his hate to Norway, into one of the key elements in our response. Ferrell also prank ordered 5 million pizzas to Norway and mocked the history of Norway. All in which we used to create our comeback. Pitched, produced, launched and distributed within 48 hours and just in time for the SuperBowl. We fought back in true Norwegian style with a tailor-made, video and PR response to GM and Will Ferrell with one simple challenge: Don't Hate. Imitate.

List the results (30% of vote)

Our response videos got over 3,4 million views in just 3 days. It generated 1257 news stories, 1,2 billion earned media impressions, giving us media coverage worth 8 million euros. With a fraction of the spend of the GM campaign, we punched way above our weight. We “won” the battle of EVs on the biggest day of TV advertising with a targeted PR response. And the ultimate mark of success: Our response created so much attention GM had to address it publicly. In the words of our new frenemy, the official GM statement: “It’s been incredible to see the high-profile creative responses to our Super Bowl ad and Audi Norway’s video series is a favorite at GM. The goal is to create a movement toward EVs and it’s natural for us to look to Norway, the leading EV-country.” Sounds to us like they accepted our challenge and “stopped hating and started imitating.”

Please tell us about how the work challenged / was different from the brands competitors

“Don’t Hate. Imitate.”, was a direct challenge and response to our competitor GM, and the auto industry in general. We challenged GM and all other auto brands to follow Audi Norway’s lead into the new era of electric vehicles. When GM, one of the biggest players in the industry, went all-in to disrupt the market with a historical shift to electric vehicles, we simply couldn’t outspend them - we had to outsmart them. We disrupted their disruption with a bold “newsjacking”-idea that stole the attention on the biggest stage – The Super Bowl. Automotive ad campaigns, and especially Super Bowl automotive ad campaigns, are usually a product of long thorough strategy- and production processes. We produced and launched our response in just 48 hours. By doing things differently and being agile, we challenged GM with a friendly counterattack and an open invitation to change.