Surprisingly, this isn’t 50 shades of great product placement by Audi, but rather a mere coincidence between author preference and a quality name brand by the German company.
In the erotic novel trilogy, Audi plays a starring role with a number of its models. Specifically, the A3 is the gift car of choice for boyfriend character Christian Grey, along with a host of other cars including an R8, and an unnamed Audi SUV.
In one instance, it reads: “How many bays does he own? The Audi SUV and R8 are there, along with two smaller SUV’s”
As one of the fastest purchased books of all time, this unpaid product placement could possibly have spurred a quick growth in overall Audi sales. In July, the brand with the four rings set an all-time sales record in the U.S. with a 28 percent increase.
While Audi says that they believe there is no direct correlation, in a recent interview with Automotive News, Audi brand communications general manager Loren Angelo had this to say about Audi’s relevance in today’s pop culture in relation to “50 Shades of Grey”.
“Those organic results are always a sign that a brand is generating real cultural relevance. Obviously, the runaway success of the series [50 Shades of Grey] has introduced Audi to consumers who might not have previously been thinking of the brand and that certainly has a positive impact for us.”
As we’ve seen before with their Iron Man 2 product placement, it is also reported that Audi could be willing to pay big bucks up front for a starring role in the upcoming “50 Shades of Grey” movie trilogy.
By Jeff Perez
PHOTO GALLERY
