While most of us associate “Let It Go” with an ear worm from the movie “Frozen,” Audi is hoping that its new Super Bowl spot by the same name will prove just as memorable. The German automaker has tapped actor Maisie Williams to star in the commercial alongside its Audi E-Tron Sportback.
Williams, whose credits include “Game of Thrones”, “Robot Chicken”, and “Dr. Who,” takes the wheel in the ad that kicks off the vehicle’s global brand campaign. The musically-inspired 60-second commercial features Williams singing her own version of the song made famous by Idina Manzel.
The commercial features Williams driving an Audi and signing.Photo courtesy of Audi AG
The script for the ad plays out with Williams behind the wheel of the new electric SUV stuck in traffic. Audi says that the intersection she stops at “represents a crossroads of today’s preconceptions and old notions of consumption, success, and status.”
This is the audience’s first clue that they’re about to be lectured on the social and environmental responsibility of owning the SUV.
The ad continues with Williams choosing to reverse course and leave “it all” behind, as she breaks out in sold and drives “towards a more sustainable future.” A musical isn’t complete without a full cast singing effort so along the way fellow drivers, pedestrians, and others join in, “representing the brand’s efforts to usher in a new era of sustainable mobility. The journey is a metaphor for how the decision to make more sustainable choices takes all of us doing our part.”
Williams recorded the vocals for the commercial at the acclaimed Abbey Road Studios in London where the Beatles, Queen, and others have recorded.
Audi has been vocal about its sustainability efforts, leveraging the messaging to help sell its E-Tron line of vehicles, which have faltered out of the gate. The low sales numbers are unsurprising considering a recent Ford survey indicated that a good portion of the world has no interest in owning an electric vehicle. Daimler has recently forced to dispute claims that it was cutting back production of its Mercedes-Benz EQC electric SUV due to a forecasted lack of demand.
