Audi South Africa recently launched their fully electric e-tron brand in South Africa along with a thought-provoking launch campaign, the “Story of Progress”, aligned to local industry shapers and pioneers who are showcasing their efforts within the futuristic fields of digitalisation, design, performance and sustainability.
To celebrate the era of electric mobility and the next step in Audi’s automotive progression, the ‘Story of Progress’ interview series explores the ideas, visions and expectations of what the future may look like and how we as South Africans can be encouraged to get there. “By showcasing and bringing to life the stories of a few South Africans who are doing extraordinary work within their respective fields, we aim to inspire an optimistic outlook towards the future and a certain conviction of how impactful each of us can be. This campaign has been a great way to localise our brand ethos of ‘progress’ and ‘future is an attitude’ in a way that is relatable and meaningful to our audience. While electric mobility is an exciting step towards the future, the associated benefits of design, digitalisation, performance and sustainability are great reasons to believe in it too,” said Tarryn Knight, Head of Marketing, Product and PR at Audi South Africa.
The Audi “Story of Progress” campaign includes a local angle and follows a continuation of global stories carried out by international personalities like Janelle Monáe (singer and songwriter), Regé-Jean Page (actor), Stella McCartney (fashion designer) to name a few. The integrated campaign which spans across digital and above-the-line channels is delivered through an interview style execution which aims to drive meaningful thought and conversation.
“The future that we’ll be greeted by tomorrow depends on the attitudes, abilities and personal beliefs we use to confront the challenges of today. To highlight Audi’s recent launch of the e-tron brand and the range of fully electric vehicles, we chose four prominent South African change-makers to explore their perspectives on progress and their personal visions for the future. Despite their different careers and passions, there was one thought that remained consistent – that progress made individually should be should be progress shared with all,” says Neil White, Creative Director at Audi’s creative agency, Ogilvy South Africa.
Audi’s Story of Progress campaign focuses on four distinctive themes:
Sustainability, led by Hanli Prinsloo.
“When you have only one breath on which to dive deep, you appreciate what a finite resource is”, says Hanli Prinsloo, free diver and ocean conservationist. “We are living in a golden age of sustainability with access to knowledge that, if properly harnessed, can create a world of new possibilities. You protect what you love” – a defining lesson learnt by Hanli after a pod of more than 60 sperm whales chose her to babysit their young calf. In that moment, when she was accepted as “part of the pod”, she realised how much we live on a shared planet. Hanli is driven by providing others with similar connections, experiences and opportunities to fall in love with nature.
Design, led by Donald Nxumalo.
“Our future relies on the small steps we take together, every day.” Donald Nxumalo is an award-winning interior designer, with a unique ability to reconfigure the stories of the past in the spaces he shapes. He speaks about how collaboration and purposeful design will aid in creating a future in which we all reap the rewards.
“The biggest change comes from pitching up every day.” Donald seeps optimism through his hope for a better tomorrow, motivated by the unknown and excited for the opportunity to be intentional when designing for the future. For Donald, beautiful design tells a story. There must be meaning for it to be considered sustainable, because “beauty and sustainability live hand in hand”.
Digitalisation, Led by Aisha Pandor.
“The digitalisation of industries can help spread ideas and opportunities exponentially, bringing with it the power to solve some of the biggest issues that we face today,” says Aisha Pandor an entrepreneur, investor and mom, whose vision for the future is one in which equality is propelled by technology.
Performance, led by Dion Chang.
“Pushing boundaries is crucial for performance,” says Dion Chang, founder of Flux Trends. Dion has spent his career questioning the norm, pushing people far past the point of being comfortable by asking those difficult questions and opening them up to possibilities. He encourages people to take the extra step to realise the power we all possess to make a difference and enact change. Dion discovered that real progress often requires a certain amount of discomfort and disruption in order to perform at one’s best.
