Alternative media
Pushing out the message with a plow
By Diego Vasquez
Dec 6, 2007 - 6:07:39 PM

If you live in the northern U.S., or just about anywhere in Canada, the sight of snow plows signals exactly one thing: the snow is coming. And that calls for vehicles built to handle the most demanding of driving conditions.

So wrapping ads on snow plows seemed a smart way for Audi to promote the handling abilities of its four-wheel-drive Quattro vehicle. Introduced in 1980, the Quattro was Audi's first four-wheel-drive vehicle that came with a turbocharged engine.

Working with its agency, Lowe Roche, Audi came up with the idea of sending eight wrapped snow plows out onto the streets of Toronto.

On the plow itself was the tagline: “Winter Is Coming.”

The snow plows roamed Toronto streets for two days at the end of October.

As with any alternative media campaign, it was clever enough to draw the attention of local media as well.

“We ended up making news on radio and TV shows,” says Scot Keith, vice president and general manager at Lowe Roche.

“Audi’s media spend is much lower [than its competitors], so we’ve got to turn each dollar into $10.”

At nearly 20 feet tall, the plows couldn’t be missed as they toured the thoroughfares and streets of Toronto.

But Keith says two days was enough to get the point across, and longer would have been overkill.

“A stunt like that kind of loses its appeal after time,” he says.