Audi – Vorsprung Durch Technik (1984)

There was always a reluctance in the UK to buy foreign cars – and, for some, especially cars made by the Germans.

In 1984, Audi tackled this issue directly in a campaign that actually promoted the car’s Germanic qualities – a tactic that could easily have gone horribly wrong.

Ad creators John Hegarty and Barbara Noakes first saw the phrase “Vorsprung Durch Technik” on a poster in a German Audi factory. Asked what it meant, a German worker replied, “You haven’t really got a word for it, but sort of ‘moving ahead with technology'”.

The slogan stuck with Hegarty, and when he got back to England, he added the phrase to the advertising, and a memorable slogan was born.

Though the style of the advertisements changed over the years, the tagline (voiced by Butterflies actor Geoffrey Palmer) linked them all.

One of the most memorable ads of the campaign, showing a family by a swimming pool, managed to both praise German technology and allude to a British stereotype of them. The message was clear – Invest in an Audi “if you want to get on the beach before the Germans”.

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